Reaction time (All the good names are taken (sigh))
by spart1339
Summary: Spart, having seen the future of the RWBY decides that a change is needed and wishes to bring in that change. So, he brings RWBY, JNPR, Beacon teachers and parents to change their fates and to show them the multiverse of Jaune Arc. From hero to villain, hunter to humble shop owner, secret agent to ladies man. The realities of Jaune Arc are infinite.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone I just want to say thank you for taking time out of your day to read this fic as there are many out there in the RWBY section that are similar. After reading some I got inspired to write my own. Like many this will focus on Jaune getting his turn in the spotlight, lord knows he deserves it.**

**Now, the updates for this will be slow as I will be focusing on my other story. This can be considered a bookmark. You know how you get a good idea but you put on hold and when you come back it has already been done and you think I should have at least put the idea out there. This is me doing that.**

**This will include movies, games and TV shows. Feel free to PM me on what could be shown. Please don't write them in the comments that is all I ask.**

**This takes place at the start of the third volume.**

**Any and all mistakes are mine and mine alone. RWBY or any of the franchises that show up are not mine. I'm just sitting in their library and borrowing their books.**

**Inspiration: Predator (Had trouble writing the scenes from the movie where it would go from regular to infrared and then back. I hope I did it justice)**

* * *

"And that is how I'm planning to conquer the world using pancakes!" Nora exclaimed happily while gesturing to the chalkboard that her team wondered where she got it. Nora's plan for world domination on the board showed a detailed drawing of Remnant with what appeared to be pancakes approaching from the various coastlines with arrows moving inward to the center of Remnant. Jaune, Ren and Pyrrha sat on their beds and looked at the board with indifferent expressions. The reason why is because over the past year the team have gotten used to Nora's antics and they all agreed to humor the hyper girl whenever she got in the "mood". The last time they ignored Nora she blew up several walls, three rooms and the workshop.

The reason for the destruction is because she wanted to test out a new formula for her grenades and she stole an energy drink from Jaune's secret stash. The end result was an extremely hyper Nora running around Beacon with highly explosives grenades claiming that she was fighting the soldiers of the Waffles Society. It took Professor's Glynda, Port and Oobleck to capture and restrain Nora and the scolding that team JNPR got from Ozpin and Glynda could be heard throughout Beacon. The next day Nora had a huge headache as a result of the energy drink and both Ren and Pyrrha agreed to remove the energy drinks much to Jaune's dismay. After that they all agreed to always listen to what Nora has to say to avoid the "screaming banshee" incident as the student body dubbed it.

"And all of you!" Nora shouted while gesturing to her teammates, "will be my generals and when I'm queen of the castle. You shall be rewarded!" She shouted happily while placing her hands on her hips and began laughing when suddenly a bright light filled the room causing all members of JNPR to shield their eyes. When the light died down all members were gone.

* * *

Team RWBY is currently in the heated debate of which movie to watch to spend their evening. Blake wanted to watch romance while Yang voted for a fighting movie and Ruby wanted to watch a weapons documentary. Weiss voted for a drama and back and forth the four argued for their respective movies when they heard Nora shout something about pancakes when the same bright light that filled JNPR room filled theirs and they also vanished when the light died down. The same light appeared in different sections of Beacon and in different parts of Remnant. When the lights died down several individuals along with teams JNPR and RWBY disappeared from Remnant.

* * *

In a black void a white light appeared and multiple people emerged from the light, more like fell in actuality and they fell on top of each other creating small mountain of limbs.

"Get off me!"

"Who's toughing my hair!"

"Someone's butt is in face."

"Get your hand off my ass."

"My back!"

"Someone's on my ears."

"My favorite mug!"

Slowly the people began to untangle themselves from the mess that they landed in and finally got a look at who fell on top of them.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled while embracing her little sister while Blake and Weiss observed their surroundings.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha made her way to her team leader and discreetly checked for any signs of injury when she didn't find any she relaxed slightly but didn't drop her guard. Soon Ren and Nora made their way to the both of them and like Pyrrha they didn't drop their guard. Safe to say everyone is on their guard at the moment.

"Weiss!"

"Blake!" Sun and Neptune ran to their crushes to make sure they are alright and to impress them given the chance when they defend them from whoever kidnapped them.

"Velvet/Coco." Both Velvet and Coco made sure that they are both okay before joining teams RWBY and JNPR

"Friend Ruby."

"Penny." Ruby said with a smile as she embraced her friend.

"Where are we?" The students turned around to see Professor's Glynda, Port, Oobleck and headmaster Ozpin.

"An excellent question." The group turned to the new voice and saw General Ironwood and Winter Schnee.

"Sister?" Weiss asked surprised to see her older sister.

"Weiss? Winter?" Both the Schnee sisters turned to see their mother Willow.

"Jaune?" Turning once again to the new voce they see a blonde man and woman flanked by several woman of different ages.

"Mom? Dad?" Jaune said surprised to see his parents and his sisters, along with Terra, wife to his oldest sister Saphron and their two-year-old son, Adrian. Pyrrah is also surprised to see Jaune's parents and she can definitely see where Jaune got his looks from based on his father's appearance who looked like an older Jaune. Jaune's parents and sisters ran to their son/brother that they haven't seen ever since he took off to join Beacon to become a hunter. NPR smiled at the scene of Jaune being crushed by his father and passed to the other members of his family like an object.

"Ow, you've put on some weight Qrow."

"Thanks for softening my landing."

"Dad! Uncle!" Ruby and Yang shouted as they ran to greet and hug their father and uncle who smiled and embraced them. Especially Tai as he hasn't seen his daughters since they left Signal to join Beacon and start their training to become hunters.

"My little flowers," Tai said as he hugged both daughters while Qrow simply smiled at the scene and went to take a sip from his trusty flask.

"Blake?!" Blake visibly stiffened from the sound of the voice and turned to see her parents Kali and Ghira Belladonna along with Ilia Amitola and Sienna Khan of the White Fang. Kali immediately ran to embrace her daughter with a speed that surprised Blake.

"What are they're doing here?" Winter asked pointing to Sienna and Ilia who immediately went for their weapons only to discover that they are missing. Sienna wouldn't let this chance pass her as she charged Winter who adopted a fighting stance only to be stopped by Ghira who appeared in the middle of the two. Ghira grabbed Sienna and threw her onto the ground.

"Calm yourself, Sienna!" Ghira yelled. Ilia went to help her leader only to be stopped by Kali who shook her head.

"What are doing, Ghira!?" Sienna shouted before pointing to Winter, Weiss and Willow who stood next to her daughters. "These three are responsible for many of our people's death!"

"Their father is responsible." Ghira calmly spoke having dealt with Sienna before. "The sins of the father should not be passed onto his children."

"They have killed many of us, Ghira." Sienna told him, "you created the White Fang to…"

"I created the White Fang to be a peaceful organization!" Ghira shouted getting Sienna, Blake and Ilia to flinch at his tone. "I have read reports of what you and Adam are doing to the White Fang. I'm disappointed in you Sienna." He said before pushing Sienna back before looking to the Schnee sisters.

"I apologize for her behavior." Ghira bowed to the Schnee women surprising everyone in the room. The founder of the White Fang bowing to the Schnee, it's a good thing that Adam wasn't there to see or he would have accused Ghira for being weak.

"Tai?"

Tai like Blake stiffened from the sound of the voice and turned around to see the mother of his oldest daughter Yang. Raven stood there looking a bit shocked to see her former lover and daughter that she left behind. Yang saw her mother and her eyes shifted to red as she attempted to break free from Tai's grip and punch her mother in the face and demand why she left them. Tai's hold on his daughter proved too great for Yang to break out of and she relented as her eyes shifted back to their normal color and she turned away from Raven.

Raven smirked at the sight of her daughter trying to break out of Tai's hold and she wondered how strong Yang is and pondered the possibility of bringing her into her clan. They could always use another strong fighter.

"Long time no see sis." Qrow said but was ignored by Raven.

"**Welcome."**

Everyone save for Sienna and Ilia instantly moved together and formed a circle with the teens and the young in the middle with the adults on the outside of the circle adopting a defensive stance. They reached for their weapons only to find them missing like Sienna.

"**Have no fear. I have no intention of harming you." **

"Then show yourself!" Tai shouted as he looked while looking for the source of the voice. Suddenly a flash of light appeared and a small sphere appeared roughly the size of a medicine ball and approached the group. The sphere appeared to be mechanical in nature with a bright blue light in the middle of the sphere (Basically 343 Guilty Spark from Halo).

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tai Xio Long and all of you as well." The sphere said with a slightly mechanical voice that is no longer loud. "I'm spart1339, author and viewer of the multiverse. Student in the class of life. You may call me Spart for short."

"What?" Is everyone reaction to the now named spart1339 or Spart.

"Why are we here?" Ozpin asked stepping forward to address Spart.

"Simple I brought all of you here to change the future and to rewrite history." Spart told them getting everyone to widen their eyes in disbelief at the statement.

"That's impossible." Oobleck said, "no one has that kind of power." He said in disbelief.

"Agreed. I also find this hard to believe." Winter added her opinion.

"Not to sound egotistical but I not only have the power to alter the course of the future but also over so much more." Spart said and soon three more bright lights appeared and three people stood before them that shocked everyone who knew them. Standing in front of them is Summer Rose, mother to Ruby Rose and Yang adoptive mother who died while out on a mission for Ozpin. Next to Summer is Li and An Ren father and mother to Ren who also died.

Tai broke away from the group and walked to Summer who stayed still. Finally reaching Summer, Tai slowly reached out and touched her hand then he placed a hand on her cheek that Summer leaned into. Tears threatening to fall from both Tai and Summer as they both took in each other's features, Tai looked into her eyes and he saw the woman that helped him moved on from Raven after she left him, the woman who put back the pieces of his heart and taught him to love again, the woman who he married and later became the mother of his second daughter.

"Summer," Tai breathed out her name.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" Summer choked out and hearing her voice again broke Tai as the tears fell from his eyes and he embraced Summer and gave her the most passionate kiss that he could. Summer returned the kiss with just as much passion.

"I've missed you, Summer" Tai whispered after ending the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I've missed you too, Tai." Summer said and looked over her shoulder to see the shocked faces of Ruby and Yang before they broke away from the group and ran to their mother.

"Mom!" They both shouted as they embraced Summer who returned the embrace. Tai looked over to Spart and mouthed a 'thank you' to the machine for bringing Summer back and for reuniting his family. Raven looked at the scene of Yang hugging Summer and crying and calling her mother, deep down inside her she felt a tang of jealousy at Summer for being the mother figure to Yang while she wasn't, not that she had any right to call herself Yang's mother after she left.

Meanwhile Ren slowly approached his parents who died and thought that he would never see again until he passed onto the afterlife. Li and An also approached their son and they met in the middle, Ren slowly reached out to touch his father's face with hesitation almost afraid like his parents would disappear.

"You've grown into a fine young man, son." Li spoke taking in his son's appearance for the first time since their death. The dam in Ren broke the moment he heard his father's voice and hugged his father and cried into his shirt not that Li minded as he too broke down crying while returning the hug. An also joined in on the hug and soon the family of three embraced each other with tears of relief.

Everyone smiled at the scene of the two families who have been torn apart finally being reunited.

"What are you?" Ozpin asked Spart after seeing Summer, Li and An Ren come back from the dead. A task that he knew wasn't possible.

"My kind go by many names." Spart told them once the reunion of Summer Rose and Li and An Ren. "Authors, keepers, librarians, viewers and even god. Though the last one is very rare and only reserved for those with big egos, not that I'm judging them." Spart told them.

"You said that you brought all of us here to rewrite history and change the future, correct?" Ozpin asked

"Correct but first things first." Spart said before the center eye began to glow a red and a red beam shot out hitting Penny in the chest flinging her back until she landed on her back a distance away from the group.

"Penny!" Ruby shouted as she ran to her friend, red flower petals left in her wake creating a trail.

"What the hell?" Qrow and Ironwood shouted and went for their weapons only to remember that they didn't have them on hand. Ruby moved to Penny's prone form and saw red lightning sparking across her body, when she moved to touch Penny, Ruby retracted her hand in pain as the red lightning sparked and hit her hand. After a few seconds the lightning died down and Penny slowly moved.

"Penny?" Ruby asked scared for her friend's condition.

"Friend Ruby?" Penny asked holding out her hand for Ruby to help her up which she did. Penny stood on shaky legs as she moved her hand to her eyes. "My sensors…they're offline."

"As of this moment you are no longer an android." Spart said floating down to be eye level with Penny, the center eye now back to being blue. "You are now human." Spart told Penny who looked shocked before a smaller blue beam struck her hand and she retracted her hand back as Penny experienced a slight jolt and a small amount of pain for the first time. "You deserve a different fate than what was planned for you."

"Penny?" Ironwood said as he approached the girl and kneeled down in front of her and slowly reached out touch her hand. A look of surprise appeared on Ironwood's face as he felt a pulse. "How is this possible?" He asked.

"As I said I have power over so much more than just the future." Spart said, "Penny's fate was to die at the hands of Pyrrha during the Vytal Tournament."

"What?" Pyrrha asked shocked as she couldn't see herself murdering Penny.

"You were tricked into seeing something that wasn't there and you used your sembalance in defense. Only it ended tearing Penny apart as she was affected by your sembalance." Spart told Pyrrha who shrunk into herself at the news.

"Wait, Penny's an android?" Blake asked.

"Was an android." Spart corrected her, "now she is a fully fledged human. By doing this I have altered the course of history and changed the future." Spart told the group, "of course. By bringing all of you here I also have changed the events that are going to happen."

"What was going to happen?" Ozpin curious as to what the future holds for them.

"Let me show you, but be warned you may not like what you see." Spart told them before different screens appeared before them playing different scenes. (Volumes 1-6).

Yang and Blake watched a screen where Yang had her right arm removed by Adam leader of a faction within the White Fang. Yang grabbed her right arm as she felt a pain shoot through her arm as she watched her on screen counterpart lose an arm. Blake felt sick as she watched her worst fears come to life, the White Fang coming back for her and hurting her friends in the process. Tai felt his anger rise at the sight of his daughter being injured and directed that anger at the man who injured his daughter on screen. Even Summer and Raven felt their anger rise at the sight of their daughter being maimed. Ghira hung his head in shame at the sight of Adam maiming the young girl.

On another screen Ozpin and the rest of the teachers watched a screen showing Beacon destroyed and in ruins with a frozen Grimm dragon on the roof with the Grimm surrounding the academy. Ironwood and Winter watched a screen showing Atlas soldiers fighting against the Paladins that were designed for use in the military. They watched as the soldiers struggled to fight the Paladins, Grimm and White Fang troops as chaos happened all around them. Ironwood and Winter had trouble watching the soldiers struggle to push back the threats and felt their hearts heavy with sorrow as they watched some of the soldiers die.

Another screen showed Sienna being killed by Adam and turned into a martyr for the White Fang to rally behind. Sienna and Ilia couldn't believe that Adam would do such a thing. The screen showed Adam pushing the White Fang onto more radical ideals that didn't sit well with them. Ghira watched in sadness as the White Fang was pushed to more radical solutions, '_How far has the White Fang fallen?' _Ghira thought to himself.

JNPR watched a screen showing Pyrrha fighting an unknown opponent. The other screens vanished so the only one left is the one showing Pyrrha's duel which enlarged to show everyone what is happening. Spart looked down knowing that "scene" is coming up, the screen showed Pyrrha being shot with a glass arrow, the arrow missed her heart by an inch but was more than enough to bring the Spartan to her knees as her weapons fell to the ground.

"Pyrrha!"

"What the fuck!"

"No!"

The screen showed the one responsible for fatally wounding Pyrrha, Cinder Fall.

"That's Cinder." Ruby said.

"That fucking bitch!" Nora shouted at the screen getting everyone who knew her to look at her in surprise.

"Why is she attacking Miss Nikos?" Glynda asked.

"Cinder is an agent of Salem. In fact, her whole team except for one is an agent for Salem." Spart told the group. Everyone who knew Salem clenched their hands at the information being given to them and everyone else wondered who Salem is but they would have to wait for an explanation as the screen showed Cinder walking toward Pyrrha with the Grimm dragon behind her waiting for orders. This caused shock to everyone.

"How is she controlling the dragon?" Ruby asked.

'_Looks like Salem as found a protégé.'_ Ozpin thought to himself as he watched the screen. Cinder placed a hand on Pyrrha cheek and asked her if she believes in destiny before Pyrrha burst into flames and her body fell into ashes for everyone to see.

Pyrrha fell to her knees after watching her onscreen counterpart die at the hands of Salem. Jaune comforted Pyrrha while saying words of comfort and Ren and Nora also joined in comforting Pyrrha. Ozpin gripped his cane tighter as he felt his anger rise as did the teachers in the room at the sight of one of their students dying.

"Cinder tricked everyone and she planted a virus in the CCT before the Vytal Festival. When Atlas airships connected with the CCT, the virus infected the Paladins, scrambling their IFF system causing them to go berserk and attack anyone they see." Spart explained what led up to Pyrrha's death as more screens appeared showing them what would have happened had Spart not interfered. They watched the White Fang attack and the Grimm invading Vale, even the Paladins attacking everyone. They watched as Cinder killed Amber and stole the powers of the Fall Maiden confirming Ozpin's suspicions that she is the one that attacked Amber.

"This was your future. A future that I intend to change." Spart told them as the screens continued to play showing Blake leaving on her own to Jaune blaming himself for Pyrrha's death and almost losing himself to the guilt within himself. Ozpin dying and being rebirthed in the mind of Oscar which surprised those that didn't know about Ozpin's secret, Penny's death and Yang being blamed for going too far in her duel with Mercury.

"How do you intend to do this?" Pyrrha asked wanting to know if there is a way to avoid the future that she just saw.

"By creating a new future for all of you." Spart said getting everyone to look him with surprise and confusion at he just said.

"Who is Salem?" Weiss asked shaking off her confusion and she wanted to know who Salem is as did everyone who didn't already know.

"I'll let Ozpin explain." Spart said turning to Ozpin who hesitated before informing everyone about Salem. Although he gave them the basic of information enough to satiate them and left out important parts. Everyone couldn't believe that a single person is responsible for the creation of the Grimm and that they are controlling the Grimm.

"Why did you bring us here?" Leon Arc, father to Jaune Arc asked worried for his son's safety as is his wife, Emilia Arc.

"I brought all of you here as a refuge while I create a new world line for all of you. One that isn't so bleak." Spart told them.

"And what is a world line?" Ozpin asked.

"A world line is the current world that all you have inhabit." Spart began explaining the concept of world lines to the group and soon a bright red line appeared before them. "This is your world line and every time a life changing decision is made a new world line is created as a result of that action." To demonstrate a new line fractured off from the main line and soon different lines appeared each next to the main one. "Each line is a world line that is affected by the choices that each of you made and in each a different version of you appears. Each living their own lives, this is also known as parallel worlds."

"Interesting…" Oobleck said wishing that he had a notebook and a recorder on him as he soaked in the information being presented.

"Each world line is unique, for example. In one world line Jaune was born as a girl, in another Ruby was killed in the bar fight that Yang started while she was looking her mother. Everyone soaked in the news, Leon and Emilia were surprised to hear that in one world line Jaune was born as a girl. Tai, Summer, Yang and Ruby felt their hearts sadden at the news that Ruby dies in one world.

"What I'm doing is creating a new world line." Spart told the group as a new line appeared next to the main one, this one colored blue. "This world line will be similar to your own with several key differences that I won't tell you cause it's a surprise."

"So when do we move in?" Nora asked excited.

"Not for a while. It took a lot of power to bring all of you here from your world line." Spart told them, "and creating a new world line is very difficult. Such a thing takes time."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Yang asked not exactly keen on the idea on sitting around doing nothing.

"I will show you the multiverse." Spart said with joy as everyone looked at him with confusion. "Who here knows about the multiverse theory?"

"It is proposed that there are an infinite number of universes that are unseen to us." Oobleck said pushing his glasses up.

"Correct, similar to world lines the multiverse is composed of different universes. Each one unique with different rules different from your own. In some there are no Grimm or Aura's or even Dust." Everyone was surprised to hear that and wondered what such a world would look like. "Some where there are no humans only Faunus." This got all the Faunus in the room to perk up and wonder how that would look like and others wondered what they would look like as a Faunus.

"In each universe there is one common factor in all of them." Spart told them before floating to Jaune and stopped in front of him. "You, Jaune Arc."

"What?" Jaune asked surprised at what Spart told him and judging by everyone else they too are surprised to find out that Jaune is a common factor in different universes. To prove his point Spart summoned many screens that showed different versions of Jaune Arc in different universes.

"But why? I'm nothing special." Jaune said after seeing a version of him teaching at Beacon.

"You need to work on your confidence, Jaune." Spart told the blonde, something that his parents and sisters agreed with as they knew Jaune lacked confidence. "In truth, Jaune is actually the main focus of many authors such as myself. He has so much hidden potential."

"I find that hard to believe." Weiss said much to the ire of those that have a crush on Jaune.

"It's true, that's why I accepted him into Beacon despite his transcripts" Ozpin said.

"You knew about my transcripts?" Jaune asked surprised.

"Of course, Mr. Arc. I can spot a forgery from a mile away." Ozpin told the blonde with a smirk.

"Mr. Arc when this is over. We need to have a talk regarding your actions." Glynda said with a voice that reminded Jaune of his mother whenever she's mad.

"So, you're going to show different universes centering around Jaune. Is that correct?" Pyrrha asked curious to see if one of the universes show them together. She blushed as she imagined them together.

"Correct, but the showings will be presented in movie format." Spart said just as the surroundings changed to what appeared to be a lobby of sorts with different furniture set up. "And yes, there are." Spart said getting the audience to wonder what he meant but to those that have a crush on Jaune they blushed as they all had the same thoughts as Pyrrha. I.e. Ruby, Velvet and Nora.

"Follow me." Spart said as he led the way to a set of doors that opened for him, the rest of the group followed him through the doors and entered a theater with a large screen set up in front of rows of comfortable chairs. "Take a seat everyone and we'll begin." Everyone found their seats, the students of Beacon sat together while the staff sat behind them. Once everyone is seated Spart floated to the front.

"Should you want snacks or drinks simply think it and my helpers will show up."

Ruby thought of a plate full of cookies and suddenly a small droid appeared wearing a chef's hat appeared in front of Ruby holding a plate a cookies and glass of milk. Ruby drooled at the sight and thanked the droid before taking the plate, the droid saluted before leaving. Seeing the sight everyone made sure to get something to eat or drink. Both Ozpin and Oobleck took a sip of the coffee that they ordered and swore that they died and went to coffee heaven as the flavor hit their taste buds. Glynda simply ordered a tea and thanked the droid for bringing it to her. Ruby offered a cookie to Penny who looked at the cookie before taking a bite and her eyes went wide, soon the whole cookie was gone.

"If you need refills, simply think it and it will happen." Spart said before floating off and stopping to look at the group once more. "Before I forget, some of the universes are darker than others and you should prepare yourselves."

"You're also going to be experiencing the different universes in IMAX." Spart said with glee before floating off as everyone looked at wondering what's so special about IMAX before the screen came to life.

**The sounds of a birds can be heard; the sounds of the jungle came to life as the different animals communicated with each other.**

"Oh, the jungle." Ruby said after taking a sip of milk.

"Imagine all the bugs and insects that live there." Yang said with a shudder as she thought of maintaining her hair in the heat of the jungle.

**Suddenly a person ran through the jungle followed by five others. **

"What are they running from?" Sun asked in between bites of the banana that he is eating.

"I'm sure we'll find out." Glynda said focusing on the screen.

**The person in front of the group held out his hand signaling his men to stop. The man in charge revealed himself to be Cardin Winchester. Cardin and his mean are wearing combat gear and clothing suited for surviving in the jungle and for dealing with the heat. The group stopped as they aimed their weapons at the trees. "Where is it?"**

"There uniforms are Atlas issued." Winter said after seeing their gear.

"Indeed." Ironwood added.

"Why is Cardin in the military?" Velvet asked curious.

"Who cares as long as that jerk isn't at Beacon." Yang said and everyone who knew Cardin agreed.

"It?" Ruby asked curious as to what Cardin and his team are looking for.

"**I don't know." One of the men said while aiming his weapon at the trees and looking around erratically making the other members of his team nervous. Suddenly the man was flung back as something impacted against him flinging him against a tree killing him.**

Everyone who was eating stopped as they watched the man on screen get killed.

**Cardin and the rest of his team opened fire shooting in different directions. Another scream could be heard as another soldier was killed and another and another. Soon it was Cardin that was left as he moved his rifle around erratically and breathing heavily.**

"He's cracking." Ironwood stated having seen soldiers crack just as Cardin was doing on screen.

**Cardin took a step back and into a snare that closed around his foot and yanked him up into the trees. Cardin is screaming and firing his rifle as he disappeared into the branches of the trees. Suddenly his screams and gunfire stopped as an object fell from the trees onto the ground. The object turned out to be Cardin's weapon covered in blood.**

Everyone in the audience who weren't used to sight of death felt their stomachs lurch at the thought of Cardin and his team being killed.

"What killed them?" Ironwood asked sad at the sight of Atlas soldiers being killed.

"I don't know but I imagine a new species of Grimm." Port said saddened at the sight of one of his students being killed.

"Why didn't their aura's protect them?" Ruby asked not wanting anymore cookies after seeing the death on screen.

"In this universe there is no Grimm, Aura, Dust or even Hunters." Spart said appearing next to Ruby.

"No Dust. That's impossible." Weiss said before she remembered what Spart said about other worlds not having Dust.

"So who protects the people?" Blake asked and even Ruby wanted to know.

"Police and soldiers." Spart told them before gesturing back to the screen.

**The scene changed to show a helicopter flying over the ocean and approaching a beach. Landing on the landing pad next to three others. The beach looked to be a staging area for the military. A man wearing an Atlas military uniform looked at the helicopter before closing the blinds and looked to the back of the room to show another person sitting at a table drinking.**

"General, that's you." Winter said recognizing Ironwood as the man watching the incoming helicopter.

"So it is," Ironwood said while looking at the designs of the helicopter.

**The helicopter doors opened to show Sun, Ren, Neptune, Nora and Yang exiting the helicopter with their bags and stretching their legs.**

"I cut my hair!" Yang shrieked after seeing her onscreen counterpart with short hair.

"Looks like you're also wearing glasses." Weiss pointed out.

"Short hair for the win!" Nora shouted after seeing Yang on screen.

"Where's Jaune?" Pyrrha asked wondering where her crush was.

**The last person in the helicopter leaned back and put a cigar in his mouth before lighting it and puffing out smoke. The person revealed themselves to be Jaune wearing a cap with aviation shades on.**

"There's Jaune." Ruby said happy at seeing her first friend/crush.

"That's how I look like older." Jaune asked after seeing himself for a brief moment.

"And you smoke as well." Sun pointed out.

Pyrrha and the others that have a crush on Jaune had a look of disgust on their faces as they didn't care much for smoking.

**Jaune threw his bag out of the helicopter and exited, picking up his bag Jaune and the rest of his team got into jeeps waiting for them before departing the landing pads. Ironwood exited the building and stepped down just in time as the jeep transporting Jaune stopped in front of the building. Jaune got out of the jeep and removed his cap and also his shades.**

**Ironwood smiled at the sight of his old friend. "You're looking good, Jaune." Ironwood said extending his hand.**

"**It's been a long time, General." Jaune replied shaking his hand.**

"**Come on inside." Ironwood said gesturing the building behind him.**

"I take it I know Jaune?" Ironwood asked.

"You were his commanding officer after he graduated from basic." Spart explained before everyone focused back on the screen.

"**18 hours ago, we lost a chopper," Ironwood said unrolling a map of the nearby jungle. "Carrying a cabinet minister and his aide from this charming little country." Ironwood explained to Jaune who smiled and continued smoking his cigar. "We've got a transponder fixed on their position… about here." Ironwood pointed to a location on the map that Jaune leaned in to take a better look.**

"**This cabinet minister, does he always travel on the wrong side of the border?" Jaune asked after looking at the location on the map then to Ironwood.**

"**Apparently, they strayed off course." Ironwood said after sighing. "We're fairly certain they're in White Fang hands." Ironwood said.**

"The White Fang," Ironwood grumbled knowing how troublesome the terrorists can be while looking to Sienna and Ilia.

"Got to say. You can lie better than that, Woody." Qrow said after taking a sip of his alcohol having seen through Ironwood's counterparts lie.

"**So why don't you use the regular army?" Jaune asked after taking another puff of his cigar. "What do you need us for?"**

"**Cos some damn fool accused you of being the best." A different voice spoke up.**

**Jaune turned around to see his old time friend, Pyrrha. "Pyrrha!" He shouted while walking toward her.**

"Hey it's you." Jaune said to Pyrrha who smiled at her onscreen counterpart.

"Love the simple outfit." Coco said after seeing Pyrrha's outfit onscreen which showed her wearing a white blouse tucked into a black pant suit.

"You look professional, P-money." Yang said getting Pyrrha to look at her onscreen counterpart and wonder if she can pull off such a look.

**Pyrrha rose from her chair and walked over to Jaune, "You bitch."**

"Jaune!" Emilia shouted at her son for his language and for calling a woman a bitch. Even Pyrrha flinched at the name Jaune called her.

"It's not me!" Jaune tried to defend himself. "Pyrrha, you know that I would never call you such a thing."

"I know Jaune." Pyrrha said with a smile.

Suddenly Ruby appeared in front of front holding a jar labeled swear jar. "Sorry Jaune, but you swore and you need to pay for it." She said

"How much?" Jaune asked remembering that his mother did the same thing with him growing up.

"Three bucks." Ruby said and so Jaune pulled out his wallet and donated three bucks to Ruby's swear jar before she went back to her seat.

**Suddenly Jaune raised his arm as did Pyrrha and the two locked hands in an arm wrestling contest. Each showing off their muscles.**

"Damn Pyrrha, how much muscle do you have?" Yang asked after seeing the Spartan's muscles bulge on screen.

"Some muscles you got there Jaune," Coco said with a slight purr at the scene of Jaune's counter part's muscles. Even Glynda had to admit that Jaune's muscles were impressive to look at.

"Big flex!" Sun shouted.

**Jaune and Pyrrha began arm wrestling with Jaune slowly moving Pyrrha's arm to the left. "What's the matter? Mistral Intelligence got you pushing too many pencils? Huh?" Jaune asked after seeing Pyrrha's arm move. Pyrrha didn't say anything but slowly pushed back. "Had enough?" Jaune asked with a smile.**

"**Make it easy on yourself, Jaune." Pyrrha said while slightly panting as Jaune continued to push her arm further to the left.**

"**Ok! Ok! Ok!" Pyrrha said with a smile after she lost and placed her free hand on Jaune's shoulder.**

"Huh, it looks like I lost." Pyrrha said with a smirk.

"Looks like you need a _hand _there, Pyrrha." Yang said with a smile that got Tai to laugh at his daughter's pun as the two high fived. Everyone else though groaned at the terrible pun.

"**Never did know when to quit." Jaune said with a goofy grin.**

"**Damn good to see you, Jaune." Pyrrha said with a smile at seeing her old friend again.**

"**What is this fucking blouse business?" Jaune asked gesturing to her shirt. **

Ruby appeared again in front of Jaune with the swear jar and once again Jaune put in three dollars. As Ruby returned to her seat Spart appeared in front of the screen.

"Don't worry Ruby. Every time someone swears on screen three dollars will appear in the swear jar from their counterparts." Spart said to Ruby and the audience hoped that their on screen counterparts didn't swear. A gentle light appeared around everyone and around Ruby's swear jar. "There now you don't have to get up. The money will be deposited into the jar." Spart said and floated back to his previous spot.

"**Forget about my shirt, man." Pyrrha said knocking Jaune's hand away and put her arm around Jaune and led him back to the table with Ironwood. "I heard about that little job you pulled off in Atlas. Very nice, Jaune."**

"**Good old days." Jaune said **

"**Yeah, like the good old days. Then how come you passed on Vacuo?" Pyrrha asked when they made back to Ironwood.**

"**Oh that wasn't my style." Jaune said looking to the various maps on the table.**

"**You got no style, Jaune. You know that." Pyrrha retorted.**

"Hate to say it but she is right." Coco said.

"Hey." Jaune said.

"One day with me and I can make you look good." Coco said to Jaune and leaned into Velvet. "Something I'm sure you can agree with?"

Velvet didn't respond.

"**Come on. Why'd you pass?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune lit another cigar.**

"**We're a rescue team, not assassins." Jaune said after puffing out smoke. This got Pyrrha and Ironwood to look at each then back to Jaune who didn't notice.**

"**Now, what we gotta do?" Jaune asked Ironwood.**

"**That cabinet minister is very important to our scope of operations in this part of the Kingdom." Ironwood explained.**

"**Jaune, what the General is saying is that a couple of our friends are about to get squeezed and we can't let that happen." Pyrrha said cutting off Ironwood. "We need the best. That's why you're here."**

**Jaune looked to Ironwood then to Pyrrha. "Go on."**

"**Simple setup. One-day operation." Pyrrha began explaining. "We pick up their trail at the chopper, run them down and grab those hostages, bounce back across the border before anyone knows we were there."**

"**What do you mean, "We"?" Jaune asked Pyrrha.**

"**I'm goin' in with you, Jaune." Pyrrha said.**

**Jaune looked to Ironwood then back to Pyrrha. "General, my team always works alone. You know that."**

"**I'm afraid we all have our orders, Major." Ironwood said with a sigh.**

"That is true." Ironwood said.

"Do you follow orders, General Ironwood?" Ruby asked.

"Yes, I do. Miss Rose." Ironwood said after taking a sip of water. "I report to the council and they tell me what to do."

"Such is the life in the military." Winter said.

"**Once you reach your objective, Pyrrha will evaluate the situation and take charge." Ironwood said as Juane looked to Pyrrha who smiled before taking another puff of his cigar.**

"_**Gonna tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John. He claims he has the misery but he has a lot of fun."**_

**The scene changed to show two helicopters passing over the jungle under the cover of night.**

"_**Oh, baby. Yeah, baby. Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah."**_

"This is catchy as hell," Yang said moving her foot to the tune. Even Weiss agreed as she tapped her fingers to the beat.

"_**Well, long tall Sally, she's built for speed." **_**The scene changed to the inside of the helicopter with Jaune and his team getting ready for their mission. The interior is bathed in red light as the song continued to play in the background. Sun reached into his breast pocket and removed chewing Tabaco which he offered to Neptune who was shaving and shook his head at the offer. Sun just smiled and removed a wad and inserted it into his mouth.**

"Why are you shaving?" Weiss asked Neptune who just shrugged.

"Why am I chewing Tabaco?" Sun wanted to know.

"Plenty of soldiers have vices that help them deal with the stress of the military." Ironwood said having once smoked in his youth but quit as he got older.

Weiss and Willow looked to Winter and wondered what her vice is,which is gaming.

"_**Well, I saw Uncle John with baldheaded Sally. He saw Aunt Mary comin' and he ducked back in the alley. Oh, baby. Whoo, baby."**_

**Nora took a strip of tape and placed it on her weapon before looking to Yang who is reading a magazine on hair care.**

"Guess some things remain the same no matter in which universe." Weiss said.

"Don't be jealous of these luscious locks." Yang said with a flick her hair.

"_**Havin' me some fun tonight, yeah – ow!"**_

**Nora saw Yang distracted and rolled up the tape she didn't use and threw it at Yang who caught without looking. Yang looked up from her magazine and smiled at Nora who smiled back.**

"**Rendezvous points and radio freqs are indicated and fixed." Pyrrha said holding a light to a map in her lap. "AWACS contact on four-hour intervals." She said looking to Jaune who is wearing a headset similar to hers.**

"**Who's our backup?" Jaune asked.**

"**No such thing, this is a one-way ticket." Pyrrha said looking to Jaune. "Once we've crossed that border, we're on our own."**

**Jaune smiled and chuckled, "this is getting better by the minute." He said while leaning back.**

**Ren held a small mirror and applied black face paint to his cheek.**

"Look Ren, it's you." Nora said while grabbing Ren's arm.

"I can see that, Nora." Ren said while looking to his onscreen counterpart and wondered what role he plays in the team.

"**Hey, Ren." Yang said but Ren ignored her. "Ren!" She shouted finally getting the attention of Ren. "Do you want to borrow my eyeliner?" she said with a goofy grin while Ren just looked at her. "You're applying face paint under your eyes… I thought you might want some eyeliner." She said still with the goofy grin and still Ren remained impassive. Yang sighed before going back to her magazine.**

**Sun offered the chewing tabaco to Nora. "Get the stinkin' shit out of my face." She said pushing his arm away.**

A soft light enveloped Nora and soon three bucks appeared in the swear jar.

**Sun then offered the tabaco to Ren who just continued to work on his face paint.**

"**Bunch of slack-jawed idiots around here!" Sun yelled looking to everyone. "This stuff'll make you a goddam sexual tyrannosaurus, just like me." He said with a smile. Nora shifted seats and looked to Sun while gesturing to the grenade launcher in her hands.**

"**Yeah, strap this on your sore ass, Sun." Nore replied getting Ren to laugh while Neptune looked at Nora.**

Everyone who got the joke burst out laughing in the audience while others were left clueless as to what the joke meant.

"**Operation Grimm. Me and Jaune both got one." Pyrrha said while holding a lighter inscribed with the logo of Operation Grimm. Sun and Pyrrha sat opposite each other and Sun smiled at her. Pyrrha made the come here motion with her finger and Sun leaned forward.**

"**You're not my type." She said getting Sun to smile as he leaned back.**

Neptune made the sound of a plane crashing.

**Alarms blared throughout the helicopter and Jaune listened in on his headset. "Okay," Jaune removed the headset and made a hand gesture for the others to get ready. Sun shut off the music while the others grabbed their gear. The two helicopters stopped and hovered while the one carrying Jaune and his team opened their door and Yang threw out the climbing rope. The other helicopter stood watch of the other and ready to provide cover.**

**Pyrrha looked out the doors to the trees, "never knew how much I missed this, Jaune." She shouted **

"**You never were that smart." Jaune said with a smile while a green light appeared behind him. "Yang, you're up." Yang grabbed the robe and repelled down followed by the others. Once on the ground they began their search for the missing helo that went missing. Finally, the group found the missing helo trapped in the branches of a tree looking like it's seen better days. Jaune gestured for Nora to climb up and so she threw a hook attached to a rope at the wreckage. After making sure that the rope is secure she began to climb the rope.**

Ironwood and Winter groaned remembering their time at basic when they had to climb a robe just like it.

"Maybe something similar is needed at Beacon for disciplinary purposes, of course." Port said eyeing the robe. Suddenly every student of Beacon felt a chill run up their spines.

**Finally, Nora made into the wreckage and began searching it for any clues, Pyrrha soon joined her and they looked into the cockpit only to find both pilots dead. Nora climbed down and ran to Jaune. "Both pilots each got one round in the head. Whoever hit it stripped the shit outta of it." She told him.**

**Jaune looked to the wreckage. "Took 'em out with a heat seeker."**

"**Another thing, Major." Nora said looking to Pyrrha as she approached them. "This isn't a regular army taxi. It looks more like a surveillance bird to me." She whispered the last part.**

"**We picked their trial yet?" Pyrrha asked stopping in front of Jaune.**

"**Ren's on it." Jaune told her, "heat seeker, Pyrrha. That's pretty sophisticated for the White Fang."**

"**Guess they're getting better equipped every day." Pyrrha said.**

"**Major! There were twelve Fangs. They took the two men from the chopper then they headed east." Ren told them. "Another thing, six men wearing Atlas military issued boots. They came in from the north and they followed the Fangs."**

"**Good job, keep on it." Jaune told Ren who nodded and resumed following the tracks. "Mean anything to you?" Jaune asked Pyrrha who shook her head.**

"**Probably just another rebel patrol. They operate in here all the time." Pyrrha said.**

"She knows something," Pyrrha said.

"How can you tell?" Weiss asked.

"I have a slight twitch in my eye whenever I tell a lie." Pyrrha said, "or so my mother says."

"I agree with Miss Nikos." Ironwood said ordering another glass of water. "The whole operation seems fishy to me."

**Ren followed the trail left behind while the rest trailed behind him making sure to get in his way. Jaune approached Nora who leaned against a tree. "What's he got?"**

"**Same story, Fangs took the two men from the chopper. Followed by the team with Atlas equipment." She said as Jaune stepped ahead of her. "Remember that op in Mistral tundra?"**

"**Still trying to forget it." Jaune said as he continued to follow Ren.**

"So I'm the tracker of the group." Ren said to himself.

"That's so cool," Nora said with glee. "You can track anyone in the forest."

"A skill which could prove useful to hunters in the field." Leon said.

"Agreed, I can't tell you the number of times I lost track of Grimm in the field." Emilia said while holding her grandson in her lap. Spart flew next to her and looked to her grandson who is sound asleep.

"I placed a ward around in the theater so that when any gruesome scenes are about to appear. Adrian and the young children will fall asleep and awake after the scene is over." Spart told Emilia who said her thanks at sparing her grandson from the violence on screen.

"I was wondering why he was asleep the whole time." Emilia said.

"So does that mean we're about to see a gruesome scene?" Ruby asked nervously.

"Yes, I figured that it was best to show a universe that is gruesome to prepare you for any future showings that may be dark in nature." Spart told them. "I will be sure to tell you if any of the universes that are showing are going to be dark so you can prepare yourself."

"Thanks for the early warning." Yang said as she turned her attention back to the screen.

**Ren emerged from the forest still tracking the trail left behind by the White Fang troops. He stopped next to a vine and cut the it in half. Grabbing one end he sucked on the vine but stopped when he heard a sound. Letting go of the vine showed water to be dripping out of the end of it. Moving slowly Ren moved toward the sound and pushed to the side some leaves only to see the most gruesome sight a man can see. Hanging upside down are the bodies of three people with their skin and organs removed.**

Almost everyone lost their lunch as multiple droids appeared with buckets that everyone grabbed and hurled into. Some of the staff were able to push their stomach contents back down only through sheer will.

"Oh my gods." Glynda said after emptying her stomach into the bucket provided.

"Who would so such a thing?" Sienna asked never having seen such brutality.

"Fuck…" Ilia said.

"I'm going to be sick," Ruby said after throwing up and pretty much all of Beacon's students felt the same.

"Is that what happened to Cardin at the beginning?" Velvet asked and no one wanted to answer. Droids appeared and took the buckets from the audience while some kept their buckets before the doids vanished.

**Ren turned away and saw everyone looking at the sight before them with horrified looks on each of their faces. **

"**Holy mother of god." Nora said while crossing herself.**

**Neptune walked over to the bodies and kicked a bird that was feasting on the organs that lay on the ground. Taking out his knife he bent over and picked up a pair of bloodied dog tags that he threw to Jaune who caught them. looking them over Jaune wiped some of the blood away to reveal the name.**

"**Cardin Winchester…" Jaune said looking at the tags.**

"Cardin may be an ass, but he doesn't deserve that." Yang said still holding her bucket. Velvet felt the same way, while she may hate the Winchester she wouldn't wish him dead much less skinned like his on screen counterpart.

"**Neptune, cut 'em down." Jaune said looking away from the sight and gesturing for Pyrrha to follow him while Neptune cut the vines holding them up. "I knew these men. Special Forces out of Beacon." Jaune said holding the tags out Pyrrha to see. "Now, what the hell were they doing here?"**

"**I don't know, Jaune. This is inhuman." Pyrrha said wiping the remaining blood off the dog tags. "Nobody told me there was an operation in this area." She said looking to Jaune." They shouldn't have been here."**

"**Well, somebody sent them." Jaune said not sounding convinced.**

**Neptune finished collecting the remaining dog tags and left the gruesome sight.**

"**The White Fang skinned them?" Nora asked looking to Neptune as he passed by her. "Why would they skin them?"**

**Neptune stood next to Sun. "Ain't no way for no soldier to die." **

"Agreed." Ironwood said and Winter agreed. Those soldiers were not killed but rather butchered.

"**What the hell happened here, Ren?" Jaune asked Ren who was kneeling and picking up spent bullet casings.**

"**It's strange, Major. There was a firefight. They were shooting in all directions." Ren said.**

"**Can't belief Cardin walked into an ambush." **

"**I don't belief he did." Ren said while putting back the casings where he found them. "I can't find a single track. It just doesn't make sense"**

"**What about the rest of Cardin's team?" Jaune asked hoping that the rest of the Cardin's teams were taken hostage.**

"**There's no sign, sir." Ren said, "they never left here. Hell, it's like they just disappeared" He said looking to the trees.**

"**Stick with the Fang trail. Let's get the hostages." Jaune told Ren who nodded and rose to resume following the trail. Jaune turned to face his men. "We move. Five-meter spread. No sound."**

"**It's time to let old painless out the bag." Neptune said which got Sun's attention as he turned to face Neptune and smiled. Sun removed his bag and tore open the covering to reveal a Minigun.**

"**Payback time." Sun said while picking up the weapon.**

"Hell yeah." Sun yelled trying to bring back the pleasant atmosphere from before which sort of worked as everyone wanted to Jaune and his team get revenge on the monsters that butchered Cardin and his men. Even Jaune himself wanted to see justice done.

"Glad to see you appreciate the big guns." Coco said to Sun referencing her own Minigun.

"Too big and too flashy." Sun said getting Coco to smirk as many didn't appreciate her choice in weaponry.

**Jaune and his team moved out making sure to keep Ren in sight as they moved through the jungle unaware that they are being watched. A blue filter appeared showing red forms that resembled people and a gentle hum can be heard.**

"What is watching them?" Ruby asked concerned for her friend.

"Possibly a drone based on the angle?" Ironwood suggested. "And possibly in infrared as well based on the heat signatures."

"That could be how Cardin and his team were ambushed." Winter added.

"Then the enemy knows that they are coming." Li said concerned for his son's friend.

**The group continued to make their way through the jungle while whatever was following them just continued to observe them. Jaune stopped and looked to the trees after getting the feeling of being watched but after seeing nothing decided to move on. Pyrrha walked on a slippery incline and almost tripped when she stepped on a loose log that fell and rolled down the hill. Making sure that nobody heard that she turned only to come face to face with Neptune.**

"**You're ghosting us. I don't care who you are back in the world. Give away our position one more time, I'll bleed you real quiet. Leave you here, got that?" Neptune said before leaving as Pyrrha wanted to retort but let it go.**

**Ren emerged from a group of ferns while Jaune gestured for half of his men to circle around to his right then to his left. He held out his rifle which Nora took and gave him a pair of binoculars, Jaune went into the prone positon and crawled till he came to a log, getting to his knees he looked through the binoculars. From his position he could see everyone in the White Fang camp and he made sure to count their numbers and making note of the guard positons before the sound of someone groaning grabbed his attention. Looking to the sound he saw a Faunus beaten and bloody with his hands bound behind his back when another Faunus came into view and asked the man for any information. The prisoner didn't answer but told the man to "go fuck himself" before the man grabbed the prisoner by his hair and put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger killing the prisoner.**

"That was Adam." Sienna said recognizing the man who killed the prisoner to be Adam.

"Why would he kill another Faunus?" Ilia asked confused by his actions. Blake knew why Adam killed the other Faunus, before she left the White Fang she overheard Adam talk about those who left the White Fang and called them traitor to their kind. She heard him promise to kill every traitor. That was when she decided to leave.

**Jaune set the binoculars down as he turned and leaned against the log before giving the signal for his to regroup. Once his team with him Nora gives Jaun back his rife. "They killed one of the hostages, we move." Jaune said as he gave the binoculars to Pyrrha who took them. **

"**Neptune, Sun – the nest." Jaune told them who nodded. "Ren, Nora – the guard." They also nodded understanding their assignment.**

"**Yang, Pyrrha – backup. As soon as they're set, I hit the fuel dump." Jaune said as he got up to leave everyone went to take care of the assignments. Sun and Neptune moved on the guard nest but stopped when they came across trip wires. Ren and Nora took care of the guards overlooking the camp.**

"**One down," Pyrrha said shifting her gaze to the guard nest. Sun and Neptune removed the trip wires and took out their knives and went to either side of the nest and began to whistle getting the attention of the guards as they looked over the edge only to be stabbed by Sun and Neptune. Once that was taken care of Pyrrha gave Jaune the okay to proceed. Jaune snuck his way to the makeshift generator being powered by an old truck. Seeing an opportunity Jaune gave the signal to hold, which Pyrrha repeated to the others.**

**Jaune removed his knife and cut the ropes holding the truck in place, then removing the explosive charge he set the timer and set the bomb in the back of the truck. **

"**What the hell is he doing?" Pyrrha said confused by his actions.**

"What are you doing Jaune?" Velvet asked.

"I can only guess thinning their numbers so my team as less to deal with." Jaune said already analyzing what he just seen and could possible think to what his other self has planned.

**Once the bomb was in place he went to the back of the truck and lifted it so the blocks holding it off the ground fell over and Jaune pushed the truck forward so it rolled forward on its own and towards the makeshift mess hall. **

"**What the fuck…" Sun said confused at what he is seeing.**

**Seeing that the truck is in danger of crashing into the mess hall a White Fang soldier jumped into the driver's seat. Jaune upon seeing this grabbed a grenade from a pouch on his vest. The White Fang soldier in the driver's seat hit the brakes but by then it was too late, the bomb in the bed of the truck exploded just as the truck crashed into the mess hall killing the WF (White Fang) members eating.**

"Is that what you meant by thinning their numbers?" Blake asked Jaune who simply nodded. He still couldn't believe that the man on screen is himself but in another universe.

"Brutal but effective," Raven said taking a sip of her drink having used such tactics herself.

"**Show time, kid." Pyrrha said to Yang before jumping over the log.**

**Jaune pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it landing in the middle of a group of WF soldiers who were killed when the grenade went off.**

"**Where are they?" A WF soldier shouted as everyone in the camp started shooting in different directions. Seeing they're still confused Jaune used the grenade launcher attached to his rifle and fired destroying a building and hired his weapon.**

"**Target the center building." Pyrrha shouted as she shot her own weapon, a SMG and moved into the camp. Nora took cover behind a tree and fired her grenade launcher at the building Pyrrha suggested blowing it and took cover again.**

"Explosions!" Nora yelled happily getting everyone to smile and chuckle. Though the scene of the butchered soldiers remained with them they momentarily forgot the sight and went back to their drinks.

**Sun walked on the outskirts of the camp and quickly turned around to see three WF soldiers, quickly pulling the trigger Sun dispatched them as the Minigun spun to life. Neptune trailed behind Sun and came across another soldier and fired his own LMG before joining Sun as the two began working their way into the camo. A WF soldier ran to the helicopter and told the pilot to start it up while he climbed into the copilot's seat. Pyrrha appeared in front of the helicopter and shot the pilot while Jaune fired his grenade launcher blowing up the helicopter.**

**Neptune ran as bullets impacted against the ground behind him, the person shooting him sat in his position in the trees. Neptune took cover behind a log, "get that mother!" he shouted to Sun who fired upon the shooter and killed him.**

**Nora and Yang took cover behind some crates, Yang stood and fired her weapon getting the shooters to take cover while Nora fired her grenade launcher killing the WF soldiers.**

"Excellent teamwork." Ironwood said.

"Indeed." Winter added

"Notice how they work together as team children." Gylnda told the students.

"It looks like there're just shooting blindly." Sun said before taking a sip of his soda.

"You're wrong." Winter said looking to Sun. "Pyyrha and Jaune are pushing to the center of the camp no doubt to eliminate the commander. Nora, Yang and Ren are slowly pushing inward from the outside of the camp. While Sun and Neptune are doing the same but from the opposite side to box in the enemy."

"Oh," Sun said slightly shrinking into his seat from the look that Winter gave him.

**Sun kicked down a door and encountered a group of WF soldiers running from him. Not hesitating he pulled the trigger and gunned them down before moving on. Jaune moved into a building killing any soldiers in his path as he exited the building he took cover from gunfire. A WF soldier appeared behind Jaune.**

"Jaune, look out!" Ruby shouted at the screen.

"Ruby, he can't hear you." Weiss pointed out.

"Like you didn't do the same during _Nightmare on Vale street_." Yang said getting Weiss to look away and admit defeat. It was during their movie night and Yang picked a horror one, throughout the whole movie Weiss provided commentary such as pointing out what she would have done.

**Jaune drew his machete and threw it behind him, the blade went through the soldier and hit the wood post behind him. Impaling him to the post.**

"**Stick around." Jaune said before moving forward.**

"Nice!" Yang and Tai both yelled while everyone else groaned at the terrible pun.

'_Maybe I should show them Commando and Blood Dragon.'_ Spart thought to himself knowing that Yang and Tai will definitely enjoy all the puns in both those universes.

"**Hostages are inside!" Pyrrha shouted to Jaune behind her while she went off to regroup with the others. Jaune kicked in the door to the command center and found Adam and another soldier destroying documents. **

"**Knock knock," Jaune said before shooting Adam in the head causing him to stagger backward and out of the open window. Killing the other guard in the room Jaune went to the window and saw two WF soldiers running to meet with their friends. Seeing this Jaune whistled getting the attention of Nora who saw the two.**

"**I got it," Nora said as she pursued the two.**

"**Yang, call in position and situation. Get con-op on the line." Jaune told Yang who set to it.**

**Jaune heard footsteps behind him and quickly turned around and used the butt of his rifle to knock the person unconscious. Turning the person revealed it to be a woman with short black hair and two cat ears on top of her head.**

"Blake!" Both Ghira and Kali shouted and glared at Jaune onscreen for hitting their kitten.

"I'm still with the White Fang?" Blake said wondering why she is still with them.

"Many questions, little answers." Oobleck said pushing up his glasses and taking another sip of coffee.

"**Shit," Jaune said after seeing cat Faunus. "Neptune! Any sign of the other hostage" he shouted while holstering his weapon and going to a wall that had been removed.**

"**Yo!" Neptune said while walking over to the Jaune with his weapon lowered. "Found the other guy – he's dead, too." He told Jaune when he reached him and removed his hat to wipe the sweat off his face. "And the gear from the chopper. But if they're Atlas, I'm a goddamn General." He said while putting back on his cap. "From the looks of it, our cabinet minister was Mistral Intelligence." **

**Jaune eyes looked down at the news.**

"**Another thing, Major. We were lucky." Neptune continued, "other guys we waxed were White Fang specialists." Jaune this time looked away at the revelation. "Something pretty big was going to happen here."**

"**Good work, Neptune. Clear the area. No traces." Jaune ordered looking back to Neptune. "Get the men ready to move."**

"**All right." Neptune said leaving Jaune alone with his thoughts who now looked pissed.**

"I think I just figured out that I've been used." Jaune said after seeing his other's expression.

"A feeling I know too well." Ironwood thinking back to his own career and all the ops that turned out to be different from what they were told.

"Has that ever happened to you, Winter?" Weiss asked her sister who looked away.

"Once in a while, it will happen." Winter told her sister.

"To be told one thing and have another thing happen because they didn't you the truth." Illa spoke looking at the older Schnee with hate. "Can't imagine how that feels." She said remembering the mine where her parents were killed because the SDC told their workers that the mine was stable when it wasn't. Winter didn't respond.

**Nora ran to Sun who is watching a WF soldier in a nest shooting at their teammates but they couldn't hit him from their position. "Son of a bitch is dug in, like a tick." Sun told Nora who looked at him then to his left arm taking note of the three bullet wounds.**

"**You're hit. You're bleeding man." Nora stated.**

"**I ain't got time to bleed." Sun said unfazed by the fact that he got shot in the arm.**

"I'm a badass." Sun yelled with pride at the line he just said.

"I'm gonna steal that one." Yang said thinking of the different ways to incorporate the line.

"If you ever let your opponent cause enough damage to make you bleed." Weiss said as everyone knew that Yang has a tendency to pummel her opponents into submission rather than letting land a hit on her.

"**Okay." Nora said with a smirk before aiming her grenade launcher in the air and fired three times before taking cover. "You got time to duck?" She asked just in time as the grenades she fired into air came back down to earth and hit the guy in the next. Sun immediately got to cover next to Nora as she smiled as dirt fell on top of them. Sun on the other hand covered his head from the falling dirt.**

**The scene changed to show Pyrrha entering the command building. "This is goddamn beautiful." She said as she began to sort through the papers left. "Goddamn jackpot," she said digging through the papers on the floor while Jaune watched from the window. "This is more than we ever thought we'd get. We got those bastards."**

**Jaune left the window and walked over to Pyrrha. "We got 'em" she said with a hint a satisfaction.**

"**I think this is what you're looking for." Jaune said offering a piece of paper to Pyrrha who took it only to be picked up and pushed against the wall by Jaune. "You set us up!" He yelled holding her by her plate vest. "It's all bullshit. All of it."**

"**The cabinet minister, the whole business. Got us in here to do your dirty work." **

"**We just stopped a major attack. In three days they'd have crossed the border and hit Vale." Pyrrha said not bothering to hide it anymore now that Jaune and his men completed their mission.**

"While I hate the deception, it was necessary to halt an attack against Vale." Ironwood said having been a part of a view ops just like the one being showed.

"Why didn't they just explain that to Jaune at the beginning?" Ruby asked confused as to why they would lie about the mission.

"Jaune said that his team is a rescue team and that they are not assassins." Summer began explaining. "If they told him the true nature of mission then he wouldn't have accepted the mission and the White Fang would have carried out their attack."

"Sometimes you have to lie in order to get somebody to help." Qrow said while sending a look to Ozpin who looked away in shame. It was true how many had he lied to just to get their help only for them to end up died.

"**Why us?" Jaune asked.**

"**Because nobody else could've pulled it off." Pyrrha said looking Jaune straight in the eye to show that she wasn't lying. "You're pissed about the cover story. I knew that I couldn't get you in here without it."**

"**So, what story did you hand to Cardin?" Jaune asked striking a nerve in Pyrrha as her tone lowered.**

"**We've been looking for this place for months." Pyrrha stated. "My men were in that chopper when it got hit!" she raised her voice at the end of the sentence. "Cardin's orders were to find my men and he disappeared."**

"**He didn't disappear. He was skinned alive!" Jaune shouted.**

"**Then my orders were to get somebody who could crack these bastards!" Pyrrha shouted back.**

"**So you cooked up a story and dropped the six of us in a meat grinder." Jaune scoffed as he let Pyrrha go. "What happened to you, Pyrrha? You used to be somebody I could trust." He asked.**

"**I woke up." Pyrrha simply said. "Why don't you? You're an asset, an expendable asset."**

"No soldier is an asset, nor is he expendable!" Ironwood shouted at Pyrrha's words on screen and Winter agreed with him. Ozpin also agreed as he remembered all the hunters who ever died in the secret war between him and Salem. None of the hunters and huntresses under his command were expendable.

"**I used you to get the job done, got it?" Pyrrha asked.**

"**My men are not expendable." Jaune says backing away from Pyrrha, "and I don't do this kind of work." He said before leaving Pyrrha alone with the unconscious Faunus.**

"**Major! Major, we stepped into some real shit here!" Yang yelled.**

"**What's wrong?" Jaune asked stopping next to Yang as she began putting away the radio.**

"**Air surveillance says we've got Fangs all over the place." She said while folding the portable antenna dish. "Can't be more than one, two miles away."**

"**How much time?" Jaune asked.**

"**Half an hour, maybe less."**

"**Tell Neptune we move in five." Jaune told Sun who now has his arm bandaged, Sun nodded and took off to find Neptune.**

"**Wait, she goes with us." Pyrrha says emerging from the building with the cat Faunus hands zipped tied in front of her.**

"Looking a little _tied_ up there, Blake." Yang said getting Blake to face palm and Tai to high five his daughter.

'_It appears that Yang has inherited Tai's love of puns.' _Raven thought sorrowfully while Summer thought it was cute.

Everyone else though groaned at the pun.

"**She's too valuable." Pyrrha says making to keep an arm on the prisoner. "She's got intel on their whole network."**

"**She'll give away our position any chance she gets. No deal." Jaune says before removing his plate vest and also his outer shirt, so all he is left with is a plain olive drab shirt. Putting back on his vest he pulls another cigar from his pouch on his vest.**

"**You're still under orders, Major." Pyrrha pointed out. "Now, you wanna make that call or should I?"**

**Jaune placed the cigar in his mouth and lit the tip before closing the lighter and taking out his cigar. "She's your baggage." He says pointing to Pyrrha, "you fall behind and you're on your own." Jaune says before leaving while Pyrrha looks down before pushing her prisoner to move.**

**Infrared POV**

"What's POV?" Ruby asked.

"It means Point of View. They are used to show different perspectives from different characters." Jaune explained. "What I read." He said after seeing the looks he's getting.

"Comic's don't count." Blake said.

**The camera changed back to the infrared as the angle came from above the trees observing the Jaune and his team. Distorted voices can be heard.**

"Looks like the drone is back." Blake said.

"It could've been sent to keep track of their progress." Winter theorized. "Though that doesn't explain the infrared. Surly the drone capable of switching vision modes."

"Well, it's hard to spot anything from the air in the jungle." Emilia says before handing Adrian back his parents. "It makes sense for the drone to be in Infrared as it can see heat signatures in the jungle."

"Making it easier for them to keep track of Jaune and his team." Leon said catching onto what his wife is saying.

"Jaune sure is ripped in this universe." Yang said with a smirk as she noticed his muscles hiding under his uniform. Of course the others noticed this too but didn't say anything.

"**This place is too hot for a pickup." Jaune says passing by Nora. "They won't touch us till we get over the border." Walking over the wreckage of the helicopter Jaune sees Ren. "Hey, Ren. Give me a way out of this hole. Aerial says we are cut off." Jaune informs Ren while showing him a map of the area.**

"**The only way outta here is that valley that leads to the east." Ren tells Jaune pointing to said valley on the map, having already looked at the map before and made sure to take note of key landmarks. "I wouldn't risk that with a gun to my head." Ren says looking to Jaune who sighs.**

"**Not much choice." Jaune says before looking to Nora. "Nora, take lead. Double-time it." Nora nods and takes the lead while Jaune sees Pyrrha and her prisoner. Taking one last huff of his cigar Jaune throws the rest away.**

**Infrared POV**

**The drone continues to watch and zooms in on Pyrrha and her prisoner to see the cat Faunus turn and hit Pyrrha only to have no effect.**

**Normal POV**

"**Murderers!" The cat Faunus shouted at Pyyrha and the rest of Jaune's team. "All you do is murder my people. We are just trying to get equal rights for our people!" **

"**Through violence and fear." Pyrrha retorted as she trailed behind the cat Faunus. "Which isn't helping your cause."**

"**How is that any different from what the humans have done to us!" The cat Faunus shouted again, "We are freedom fighter for the Faunus!"**

"**You and the White Fang are nothing but terrorists!" Pyrrha shouted as she pushed the cat Faunus and pointed her finger past the Faunus telling her to move.**

"**Pyrrha! Pyrrha!" Neptune shouted getting the redhead's attention as she turned to face him. "Over here."**

**Infrared POV**

**The drone is watching Neptune say "over here" but the audio is distorted. Zooming in on Neptune the drone recorded Neptune saying "over here" multiple times.**

"Why is it recording me?" Neptune asks after ordering another soda.

"I don't know bro." Sun said.

Blake was quiet as she listened to what her on screen counterpart said. She sounded just like Adam when she knew him. Shaking her head Blake focused back on the screen.

**Normal POV**

**Pyrrha looked to her prisoner who stool still already knowing to not try anything. Pyrrha walked over to Neptune who told her to turn around. "Why?" She asked.**

**Neptune looked to the trees with his eyes getting Pyrrha to turn around to see what he is looking at. The moment she does Neptune pulls out a knife with the blade aimed at Pyrrha's back.**

"He wouldn't!" Winter yelled.

"Not cool, bro!" Sun said looking to Neptune.

"That's not me!" Neptune shouted.

"Pyrrha…" Jaune said with concern that Pyrrha found comforting to know that he is concerned for her safety. It wasn't just Jaune that is concerned for the Spartan's safety, almost everyone in the room is concerned for her.

**Neptune made a stabbing motion, the moment Pyrrha felt the blade she turned around quickly aiming her weapon at Neptune. Neptune showed the tip of the knife and on the end is a scorpion still alive. **

"**Thanks." Pyrrha tells Neptune before moving out to catch up with Jaune.**

"**Anytime." Neptune whispers putting the scorpion under his boot and crushing it.**

Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief that Neptune didn't kill Pyrrha but rather to kill the scorpion that was on her back.

"I hate those things." Velvet says remembering the time a scorpion almost stung her.

"**Hey Ren! Ren!" Yang yelled at Ren who turned around to look at her. "The other day I went to my boyfriend and I said, "jeez, you got a big cock. jeez, you got a big cock." He said "why did you say that twice?" I said "I didn't."" She says waiting for Ren but he remains impassive. "See, it cos of the echo." Yang says with a stupid smile as she left to join the others.**

"Yang!" Tai, Summer and surprisingly Raven all shouted at the fiery blonde. While Qrow laughed at the joke and everyone else didn't respond or not sure how to react to the joke Yang counterpart just told.

"It's a different universe! Different me!" Yang held out her hands in surrender. "I would never stoop so slow to tell a joke." Which seemed to placate them as they relaxed.

"Yang has been listening to a lot Vane Hook." Ruby told her parents while Yang looked at her little sister with shock. "I caught her even telling some of his jokes to some of other classmates."

"Ruby!" Yang yelled shocked at the betrayal just committed by her little sister.

"Yang Xio Long, we are going to be discussing this. Very soon." Summer said with a sweet voice that sent chills down the spine of all the men in the audience having heard that same sweet voice once in their lives. Or in Qrow's case multiple times.

**Ren thought about the joke for a minute before he started laughing. **

**Infrared POV**

**The drone watched Ren laughing. Just like with Neptune the drone started to record the laugh. **

**Normal POV**

**Ren began walking out of the camp still laughing when he suddenly stopped and turned around the face the camp making sure to look to the trees surrounding the camp. After a minute of looking Ren ran out of the camp to catch up with the others but he couldn't shake the feeling that they are being watched.**

"I get that feeling sometimes." Pyrrha says thinking back on the different time when she has the feeling.

"You're not the only one, P-money." Yang said.

**Infrared POV**

**The drone slowly descended and played back the recordings of Neptune's "over here" and of Ren's laughter. The audio is very distorted but it is still possible to make out what is being said, each time the audio is replayed it clears up so it sounds like Ren and Neptune are there. The camera moves into the camp and a guttural clicking sound can be heard just as the camera moves to the crate that Neptune was standing. A hand appears and takes the dead scorpion in its hand and opens its palm to see the outline of the dead scorpion.**

"**Anytime."**

"I don't think that's a drone." Velvet spoke slightly unnerved at the sight of hand and the knowledge that someone has been watching Jaune and his team.

"What is watching them?" Ruby asked after seeing the claw like nails on the hand.

"It could be a White Fang assassin." Ilia said after seeing the hand and it looked like a feline Faunus based on the claws.

"We'll have out answers soon, I imagine." Port said

**Normal POV**

**The group of soldiers made their way through the jungle to the valley that Ren spoke of. A lot of the members ditched their outer clothing so they can deal with the heat bearing down on them. The group took a break to rest and to check in with command.**

"**Goddamn!" Neptune said as he sat down and took a drink of water from his canteen. "Buddy, buddy, buddy, buddy!" Putting away his canteen he pulled out a flask from his vest pouch. "I've seen some bad-ass bush before, man, but nothing' like this."**

**Sun undid his jacket and set it aside. "I hear you. This shit's somethin'." He says looking to Neptune. "Makes Mistral look tame in comparison."**

"**Hey," Neptune said getting Sun's attention. "Little taste of home." He offered the flask to Sun who takes it and takes a drink.**

"**You lose it here, you're in a world of hurt." Sun said before checking over his gear.**

**The camera changed to show Pyrrha and the Faunus walking through the jungle. Suddenly the Faunus tripped and fell.**

"**Come on, stop sandbaggin' it. Now, get up." Pyrrha says looking down but the Faunus doesn't move. "Come on, get up." she bends over help the Faunus get back up. "Would you get up?" Pyrrha reached out to grasp the Faunus' shoulder only to be blinded when the Faunus rolled over and threw leaves and dirt at Pyrrha blinding her.**

"Never underestimate a caged cat." Kali said smirking at her daughter's onscreen self.

'_Did she just make a cat joke?' _Everyone thought except for Ghira who just smiled.

"**Fuck you!" The Faunus prisoner yelled before crawling away in an attempt to escape.**

"**Going somewhere?" Nora's voice could be heard as the prisoner stopped and looked up to see Nora aiming her weapon at her. "Maybe you should keep a better eye on her, agent." She told Pyrrha who ran to catch up.**

**Pyrrha didn't say anything as she looked at Nora then grabbed her prisoner and yanked her up. "Try it again… please." She told her prisoner who just looked at her but didn't say anything as she pushed the Faunus forward while Nora just looked at them.**

**The scene changed again to show Ren walking in front of the group with everyone trailing behind when something caught his attention. Ren moved forward slowly and entered a clearing in which he stopped to look at the trees. **

**Infrared POV**

**The camera moved to focus on Ren. **

**Normal POV **

**Ren continued to observe the trees not moving, Jaune held out his hand signaling everyone to stop and to spread out. **

**Ren held his necklace as he continued to observe the trees.**

"That's my medallion," Li said pulling out the same medallion.

"It appears that it's Ren's good luck charm." An said.

"**What's got Ren so spooked?" Jaune asked Neptune who just shrugged.**

"**Can't say Major. Been acting squirrelly ever since the camp." Neptune told Jaune. "That damn nose of his… it's weird."**

**Jaune walked over to Ren in the clearing while the rest waited. Pyrrha crouched next to her prisoner who noticed a branch right in front of her. Jaune entered the clearing and walked over to Ren. "What is it?" He asked but Ren didn't respond as he continued to look at the trees before them. "Ren...?" when Ren didn't respond Jaune grabbed Ren's vest getting Ren to look at Jaune.**

"**What the hell is wrong with you?" Jaune asked now having Ren's attention. Ren looked away from Jaune and back to the trees.**

"**There's something in those trees." He said getting Jaune to look at the trees.**

**Infrared POV**

**The camera showed something is watching both Ren and Jaune.**

**Normal POV**

**Pyrrha whistled at Nora getting her attention and gestured to her to watch over her prisoner who nodded. Nora took Pyrrha's spot as Pyrrha moved forward to see what is going on. **

**Nora looked at the prisoner who turned and looked back. The Faunus smiled showing her teeth and small canines.**

"The kitty is preparing her claws." Yang said getting Blake to shake her head at her partner. Ghira and Kali smiled at jest between the two, it's clear the Yang cares for her friend.

"Why can't they see who's watching them?" Weiss asks, "surely whoever is watching them is visible."

"Not if their using camouflage." Winter says. "Whoever is watching them is probably using the trees to hide themselves and stay hidden."

"They could be like Ilia and are using an ability similar to hers." Sienna said looking to Ilia who is the White Fangs best spy. She has the ability to camouflage herself thanks to her Faunus heritage giving her the abilities of a chameleon.

**Infrared POV**

**Whoever is in the trees watched Ren and Juane talk with each other but their voices came out distorted. (distorted)" Do you see anything? Up there." Ren asked.**

**(distorted) "Nothing." Juane said shaking his head before it camera zoomed in on their faces. You couldn't make out their features just the heat from their face. "What do you think?"**

**Normal POV**

**Ren sighed and let go of his necklace. "I guess it's nothing, Major." He said before continuing to move forward. **

**The Faunus seeing her chance grabbed the branch and hit Nora in the face and took off running. Everyone heard the sound and turned around to see the prisoner running off. **

**Infrared POV**

**The camera showed the person in the trees tracking the Faunus running through the jungle. **

**Normal POV**

**Jaune whistled for Yang to pursue her, Yang took off into the forest.**

**Infrared POV**

**The camera showed Yang heat signature running through the jungle. **

**Normal POV**

**The Faunus has a good lead but Yang is quickly catching up. **

**Infrared POV**

**The camera showed an overhead view of the two heat signature running through the jungle. **

**Normal POV**

**Yang finally caught up to the Faunus and tackled her. The Faunus began struggling to get free from Yang.**

**Infrared POV**

**The camera moved closing in on the two. Distorted shouts can be heard.**

**Normal POV**

**Yang finally got the Faunus under control. "Calm down, Hey!" Yang rainsed her voice to get the Faunus to calm down which she did. Something behind Yang caught the prisoners eye as she looked behind Yang. Yang turned around to see what looked like something walking toward her, she could see through it but the image appeared distorted almost like looking through a broken mirror.**

**Infrared POV**

**The camera closed in on Yang's face.**

**Normal POV**

**Switching views showed the Faunus and Yang screamed before blood splattered onto the Faunus. Blood coated her hair and the entire left side of her face and upper torso.**

"Yang!" Ruby shouted as she held onto her sister out of fear that she would disappear. Tai, Summer and Raven were quiet but shocked to see their daughter killed on screen. The rest of RWBY comforted Yang as she remained silent at seeing herself killed.

"I'm alright, Ruby." Yang said while comforting Ruby. She looked to her parents and smiled at them then to her friends.

"Yang?" Jaune asked leaning forward in his seat.

"I'm fine, Jaune." Yang said while patting Ruby's head. "Shocked but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" He asked concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, thanks for asking." She replied while Jaune leaned back into his seat. _'He's sweet.' _Yang thought with a blush. Pyrrha saw the blush and scowled at Yang knowing that she'll have more competition for the blonde knight's heart.

"What was that?" Sun asked.

"Ilia?" Sienna asks looking to said girl seated next to her.

"I'm good lady Khan, but I can't turn myself completely invisible like we just saw." Ilia said slightly jealous at the person on scree for having the ability to turn invisible.

**Nora and the others ran through the jungle following the trail the Yang left. Changing scenes showed an invisible hand grabbing Yang's foot and started to drag her body away. Finally, Nora caught up with the prisoner who is trying to crawl away, grabbing the Faunus and pushing her upright. Nora saw the Faunus covered in blood and looking scarred.** **Before she can ask what happened the sounds of leaves rustling drew her attention, looking for the source she saw drag marks leading into the bushes.**

**Following the tracks, Nora came across a blood trail. Following the trail, she finds the radio that Yang carried covered in blood and her weapon. The blood trail continued and she followed the tail which led her to some tree leaves that blocked her vision. Pushing the leaves aside she sees bloody organs and intestines on the ground.**

Everyone felt sick as they were reminded of what happened to Cardin and his team in this universe.

"Yang…" Tai whispered as Summer held his hand in comfort.

Droids appeared holding new washed buckets out for the audience to take just in case they might need it again. Everyone took the buckets and thanked the droids who took the left over buckets and left.

"I would never have thought someone is capable of such brutality." Winter said placing the bucket next to her.

**Nora almost lost her lunch but she held it back. the screen showed the Faunus right where Nora left her and Jaune and the others came running. "Sun, break left. Neptune, right." He ordered as she stopped and kneeled next to the Faunus who now looked like she's in a trance. "What the…" Jaune said after seeing the blood on the Faunus.**

"**This isn't her blood."**

"**What the hell'd you do to him?" Pyrrha asked kneeling on the other side of the prisoner.**

**Nora came back to the group looking sick. "Major… you'd better take a look at this." She said.**

"**Did you find Yang?" Jaune asked checking over the prisoner for any wounds.**

"**I… I can't tell." Nora said honestly getting Jaune to look at Pyrrha with confusion. Jaune rose and followed Nora who showed him what he found before. **

"**What in god's name…" Jaune asked shocked at what he is seeing.**

"**I think it's Yang." Nora told him.**

"**Where the hell is her body?" Jaune asked still looking at the scene before him hoping that it isn't real.**

"**There's no sign of it."**

"**Ask her what happened." Jaune told Nora who went to ask the prisoner what happened.**

**Nora walked to the prisoner with Pyrrha standing guard and took a knee. "What happened here? What happened to Yang? Hey!" Nora shouted breaking the Faunus out of her trance. **

"**I… I…" The Faunus said focusing on Nora.**

"**What happened to Yang?" Nora asked again.**

"**The jungle came alive and took her." The Faunus whispered that only Nora could hear.**

"**She says the jungle… it just came alive and took him." Nora called her shoulder to Jaune who looked at the bloody radio and weapon.**

"**Bullshit! That's not what she said!" Pyrrha said looking to Nora. "What she said doesn't make any sense."**

"**Those sappers have been following us ever since the camp." Nora said. "They've been in front of us! She gave away our positon." She yelled at Pyrrha.**

"**She's been in my sight!" Pyrrha yelled back.**

"**You lied to us! So why should I believe you!"**

"**Hold it! Jaune yelled trying to break up the argument between Nora and Pyrrha. "Hold it!" Finally getting their attention. "Why didn't they take her radio or her weapon?" He then gestured to the prisoner. "Why didn't she escape?"**

**Pyrrha and Nora thought about what Jaune said, then a thought occurred to her. "Cardin."**

"**What?" Jaune asked looking to Pyrrha who looked at Jaune.**

"**They did the same thing to Cardin Winchester." **

**Jaune looked at Pyrrha coming to the same thought as Pyrrha. "I want Yang's body found." He ordered his men. "Sweep pattern. Double back. 50 meters. Let's go." Jaune told them as everyone began searching for Yang's body. Pyrrha grabbed the Faunus and everyone began their search.**

**Jaune stopped and looked around for any clues but didn't see anything and so he moved on. What he didn't see was the vine that had blood dripping on it. The camera slowly moved up to follow where the blood was coming from and showed Yang hanging upside down with her chest sliced open.**

Everyone gagged at the sight of Yang's body and Yang herself felt strange at seeing her body.

**Sun walked through the jungle but stopped when he heard the sound of movement and aimed his weapon at the direction of the sound. "Come on, you fuckers. Old painless is waiting." Sun said as he flicked off the safety and waited. A small animal came out of the bushes and Sun scoffed at the animal and turned away. Sun heard something and turned to see what it was; he didn't see a blue ball coming toward his back.**

**The ball impacted against his back and blew apart his chest.**

"Sun!" Blake yelled.

"Damn." Sun said seeing himself die and slightly happy that Blake is concerned for him.

**Neptune heard the sound and turned to see Sun falling over. Running over he sees Sun's body and standing over him is the outline of a person that matches the same one that killed Yang, Neptune isn't sure what he is seeing and the invisible person's eyes flashed yellow before disappearing.**

"**Contact!" Neptune yelled as began shooting at the figure which took off running. Hearing the gunfire everyone ran towards Neptune's position. The figure ran away into the bushes causing the leaves to sway with something bright green on the leaf. Neptune kept firing his LMG until he ran out of ammo, removing his hat he picked up Sun's Minigun and began firing. Trees were cut down from the Minigun as Neptune moved the Minigun back and forth in an arc in an attempt to hit whatever he saw. Soon everyone arrived and they all joined Neptune by firing their weapons. Nora pulled out her grenade launcher and fired four grenades into the jungle.**

**After a two minutes of shooting the Minigun ran out ammo but Neptune kept the trigger pressed down so the barrels kept spinning making a grinding sound getting Jaune to look at Neptune who finally let the trigger go. The area in front of the group is destroyed, smoke and destroyed trees could be seen.**

"Talk about overkill." Coco said eyeing the destruction in screen.

"Neptune did just see his friend killed and saw something that he couldn't explain." Ozpin said before taking a sip of his coffee. "He panicked and did the only thing he could and that was shoot."

"What about the others?" Ren asked wondering they didn't stop Neptune or ask him what is going on.

"They've just found out that they were lied too. They also found their fellow soldiers skinned and butchered." Winter spoke up. "They just lost two of their squad mates. It's safe to say they've been under a lot a stress and they wanted revenge for their friend's deaths."

Everyone nodded in understanding before looking back to the screen.

**Jaune stepped forward looking at the destruction they just caused. "What happened?" he asked Neptune.**

"**I saw it." Neptune said **

"**You saw what?"**

"**I saw it." Neptune repeated still holding the Minigun. Jaune looked at Neptune with concern as Neptune looked shocked. Gesturing to Nora and Ren to take a look Jaune knelt down to get a better look at Sun's body as did Pyrrha who rolled him onto his back. Sun's chest is blown open.**

"**Sun…" Jaune said examining the body. "No powder burns, no shrapnel."**

"**The wound's all fused, cauterized." Pyrrha added her own observations. "What the hell could have done this to a man?" She asked Jaune who looked at Neptune.**

"**Neptune… Neptune, look at me!" Jaune said getting his attention. "Who did this?"**

"**I don't know goddamn it. I saw something."**

**Jaune looked back to Sun's body before Nora came running back. "Not a thing. Not a fuckin' trace." She told them. "No blood, no bodies. We hit nothing."**

"That's impossible." Ruby said, "whatever killed Sun couldn't have survived that." She said pointing to the carnage that the team just caused.

"I think we're about to be shown what they're dealing with." Port said.

**Jaune looked at the area in front of him. "Pyrrha, better get on the radio." He said, "Neptune… "**

**When Neptune didn't answer Jaune turned around. "Sergeant!"**

"**Yes, sir." Neptune said snapping out of his trance.**

"**I want a defensive position above that ridge," Jaune said pointing out the area to Neptune. "Mined with everything we've got." He said then looked down to Sun's body. "Put him in his poncho. Take him with us."**

**Nora stepped forward, "I got him." Neptune looked at Nora getting her to stop then to Jaune who gestured for her to follow him. Neptune kneeled next to Sun and sighed.**

**The scene changed to show the Faunus reaching out to touch the leaf with something bright green on it. The moment she touched it Pyrrha appeared. "Let's go." She said, as the prisoner went to join her she wiped her hands on her pants.**

"What is that?" Glynda asked the question that is on everyone's mind.

"It's hard to tell from here, but it looks almost like blood." Port said.

"That thing's blood is bright green?" Blake said with curiosity as the sight.

"That confirms that whatever they are dealing with isn't human or Faunus." Sienna spoke up.

**Neptune is currently setting up traps while Pyrhha and Nora set up the radio. Making sure to camouflage the tripwires and traps with moss so they blend in with the environment. "Major, I set up flares, frags and claymores." He said once he is done to Jaune who is perched on a log overlooking Neptune. "Nothing's coming near this place without tripping on something."**

"**Thank you, Sergeant." Jaune said looking down to Neptune who nodded and went to check on something. "Neptune…" He said stopping Neptune. "He was a good solider."**

"**He was, uh… my friend." Neptune said getting Jaune to look at him with sorrow.**

"**He was all of ours." Jaune said getting Neptune to nod before leaving.**

**Neptune went to Sun's body in his poncho, flipping back the cover he took out his flask and took a sip and closed it. He put the flask on Sun's body, "goodbye, bro." Neptune said before covering the body once again.**

Ironwood ordered a bottle of scotch which a droid brought wearing a bow tie. Pouring a drink Ironwood held the glass for a moment before raising it in a toast to honor those that he lost over the years. All the friends and family before sipping the scotch. Ironwood wasn't the only as all the hunters in the room bowed their heads in honor of their fallen friends that they lost.

**The Faunus ditched her outer shirt so she is wearing a tank top and she is looking at her pants which are glowing green like the leaf from before. Changing scenes to show a log with the same green substance as before on the leaf. More dropped onto the log as the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard before an outline of a leg could be seen. Beeping could be heard as the outline soon filled in the details of the figure. The figure has reptilian skin, long claw like nails are on the hand and the person is wearing a gauntlet. They are bleeding from a leg would and they are bleeding bright green blood.**

**The hands pressed a case and a lid opened and a section slid out revealing various medical tools. Grabbing a vial, the figure opened it and poured the contents on the wound before grabbing an injector and injecting the liquid into the wound. Setting the injector aside the person grabbed what looked like a tuning fork and pressed against the wound and a snapping sound could be heard before the figure grabbed their leg in pain and roared that isn't human or Faunus. The camera changed to show a brief scene of the figure. The figure is revealed to be muscular and wearing light armor that covers their legs and thighs and gauntlets. The figure is also wearing a mask that covers their face and they are sitting on a tree branch.**

Everyone in the audience is unnerved at the sight of the person hunting Jaune and his team, the roar also sent chills down their spines. Something about it just didn't seem right.

"What is that thing?" Ilia asked, at first she thought it to be a Faunus that is getting revenge for the camp but then it killed Sun, a Faunus himself. Seeing the person now she couldn't help but feel terrified of the person, her Faunus instincts screamed danger at the sight of the person. All of the Faunus in the room felt the same sense of danger at the sight of the person.

"That isn't of this world." Ozpin spoke having seen all manner of beasts over the course of his very long life. Yet, he never seen anything like what he is witnessing.

"I wonder about its biology, its eating and cultural habits." Oobleck said eyeing the person with glee.

**The Faunus looked up to the trees with fear after hearing the roar, she looked to Ren who also heard it and is looking to the trees. She looked at Pyrrha and Nora but they didn't hear it.**

"**Blazer one, I repeat, exraction necessary." Pyrrha said over the radio. "Say again, Blazer one. Say again."**

"_**Request for extraction denied. Area is still compromised. Proceed to sector 3,000 for prisoner extraction. Priority, out. Next contact 0930."**_

**Pyrrha looked at her watch. "Roger, Blazer one. 1030 hours." She handed the radio back to Nora. "Damn bastards." She said just as Jaune entered the makeshift camp. "They say we're still in too far. They can't risk coming in."**

"**We're assets, Pyrrha." Jaune said taking a seat. "Expendable assets." He said throwing her words back at her.**

"**It comes with the job. I can accept it." She said.**

"**Bullshit. You're just like the rest of us." Jaune retorted to which Pyrrha stayed silent.**

"**Shitload of good a chopper's gonna do us in here anyhow." Nora said just as Neptune came walking in and took a seat across from Pyrrha.**

"**Sergeant? Sergeant! Sergeant!" Pyrrha yelled finally getting Neptune's attention. "Who hit us today?"**

"**I don't know. I only saw one of them camouflaged." Neptune said, "he was there. Those eyes disappeared."**

"**What was that?" Jaune asked catching the last part.**

"**Those eyes, they… they disappeared." Neptune said recalling what he saw. "I know one thing, Major. I drew and fired straight at it. Capped off 200 rounds in the Minigun… full pack. Nothing… nothing on this earth could have lived." Neptune said. "Not at that range."**

"**Neptune, you take first watch, then you get some rest." Jaune told Neptune who nodded and went to his post.**

"**Ask her. Ask her what she saw." Pyrrha told Nora while pointing to her prisoner. "Ask her what happened to Yang." Nora looked to Jaune who gave her the go ahead.**

"**Hey! Earlier today what happened?" Nora asked the Faunus.**

"**I already told you what happened. Your friend was killed by the jungle." The prisoner said.**

"**Same thing as before. The jungle, it came alive and took her." Nora relayed what the prisoner told her. Then she looked to Ren. "Ren… you know something. What is it?" She asked.**

"**I'm scared, Nora." Ren said while holding his medallion.**

"**Bullshit. You ain't afraid of no man." Nora told Ren.**

"**There's something out there waiting for us…" Ren said letting go of his necklace and stood up. "And it ain't no man. We're all gonna die." He said before leaving the group.**

"**He's losing his cool." Pyrrha said looking to Jaune. "There's nothing but a couple of guys running around out there." She said getting Jaune to shake his head at her.**

"**You still don't understand, Pyrrha, do you?" He said. "Whatever it is out there, it killed Cardin, and now it wants us."**

"Ominous much." Yang said taking a sip of her soda.

"But he's not wrong." Ren said

"The way it observed them reminds me of a hunter stalking his prey." Emilia said.

"True." Port said.

**Neptune stood watch while the others sleep looking at the moon. "Here we are again, bro, just you and me." He said with a smile, "same kind of moon and same kind of jungle. Real number 10 night, remember?" He asked the moon expecting an answer. "Whole platoon, 32 men chopped into meat, and we walk out, just you and me." Neptune recalls smiling at the memory. "Nobody else. Right on top, bro. Not a scratch. Not a fuckin' scratch."**

"**You know, whoever got you, he'll come back again." Neptune said as his voice lowered and became threatening. "And when he does, I'm gonna cut your name right into him. I'm gonna cut your name into him." Neptune promised.**

Sun grabbed Neptune and brought him into a hug. "Thanks bro."

"Anytime," Neptune said while everyone else smiled at the scene.

**Rustling got the attention of Neptune as he turned around to see what is causing the noise just as the flares went off waking everyone up. **

"**What the hell is it?"**

"**Neptune!"**

**Neptune saw something and fired his weapon only to get tackled knocking his weapon out of his hand.**

"**This way! Over here!"**

"**Neptune, where are you?!"**

**Neptune struggled with his opponent as everyone ran to Neptune. Pulling out his knife Neptune began stabbing his opponent. "Fuck you!" Neptune yelled as he continued to stab.**

"Get him, Neptune." Ruby cheered for Neptune.

"Wait, Ruby." Weiss said to her partner getting her to calm down. "Look at the blood." She pointed out and Ruby saw that the blood is not glowing green but a dark red.

"Oh," Ruby said in realization.

"**Don't fuck with me." Neptune said as he killed his opponent. Nora found Neptune and shined her light at the him and the scene.**

"**Neptune?" Nora said.**

"**Jesus." Jaune said looking at the scene before him.**

"**I got you, motherfucker." Neptune said catching his breath. "I killed you, you fuck."**

**Nora shined the light at Neptune's kill and found a boar still twitching. "Jesus! You killed a pig."**

"**What the…?" Jaune said.**

"**Do you think you could have found something bigger?" Nora asked getting Ren to laugh.**

"**Fuck you, Nora. Fuck you!" Neptune said while wiping the blood off his knife.**

"**Where's the girl?" Jaune asked seeing Pyrrha next to him.**

"**Ah, shit!" Pyrrha said realizing her mistake as she ran back to the camp as did everyone else.**

"**Why wasn't anybody watching her?" Nora asked as they ran back into the camp and found the prisoner in the same spot they left her.**

"**Why didn't she try to get away?"**

"**Look at her. she's scared out of her mind." Jaune pointed out and indeed the prisoner looked scared.**

"**Major, you better take a look at this." Ren said shining his flashlight on the ground. Jaune walked over and saw the poncho that they put Sun's body into. Only to find it empty. "Sun's body, it's gone."**

"**It came in through the tripwires." Nora said looking to the empty poncho then to Jaune. "Took it right out from under our noses."**

"Why would it take his body?" Juane asked curious and no one really wanted to know or had an answer.

**The next morning the group is trying to figure out what happened the night before. "That boar had to set off the trip flare, Major, cos there ain't no other tracks." Ren said while looking for more tracks.**

"**How could anyone get through this and carry out Sun without us knowing it?" Nora asked. "Why didn't he try and kill one of us?"**

"**He came in to get the body." Jaune said looking for any clues. "He's killing us one at a time."**

"**Like a hunter." Ren said.**

"Looks like you're right, Lady Arc." Ghira said.

"Call me Emilia, Ghira." Emilia said looking to Ghira who smiled. "Not that has ever stopped you, Ghi."

"True, Em." Ghira said with a smirk.

"Dad, do you know her." Blake asked confused as to the familiarity the two have toward each other.

"We dated for a while." Emilia said getting all of the Arcs save for Leon, Emilia, Kali and Ghira to do a pretty good impression of a koi fish.

"Five years to be exact." Kali said while looking to Emilia with a smirk that Emilia returned. If one looked closely they would see lighting sparks between the two. Kali placed a hand on Ghira's arm and Emilia did the same with Leon. Meanwhile Ghira and Leon looked at each and smiled at their wife's antics.

"Wha… what…?" Blake asked feeling her brain shut down at the news.

"A tale for another time, Blake." Ghira told his daughter.

**Jaune looked closely at the ground before a thought came to him as he looked up to the trees then to the rest of his men. "He's using the trees."**

"One way to avoid detection." Ilia said, "Whatever is hunting them must have good agility."

"True," Sienna added.

**Jaune went to the prisoner Faunus and picked her up off the ground with Pyrrha standing guard. "Yesterday, what did you see?" he asked.**

"**You're wasting your time." Pyrrha said looking away.**

"**No more games." Jaune said shaking the Faunus slightly.**

"**I don't know what it was." The prisoner said getting Pyrrha's attention. "It…"**

"**Go on."**

"**It changed colors like the chameleon." She said looking Jaune in the eyes so he knew that she wasn't lying. "It uses the jungle."**

"**Are you saying that Sun and Yang were killed by a fuckin' lizard?" Pyrrha asked with disbelief. "That's a bullshit psych job. There's two or three men out there at the most. Not a fucking lizard!"**

**Jaune looked at Pyrrha then back to the prisoner. "What's your name?" He asked her.**

"**Blake."**

**Jaune pulled out his knife which caused Blake's breath to hitch as she saw it. "Blake, this thing is hunting us. All of us." Jaune said. "You know that." Blake nodded and Jaune cut her binding's freeing her.**

"**What the hell are you doing?" Pyrrha asked looking to the cut bindings.**

"**We need everyone." Jaune said walking away from her.**

"**I'm taking her back. We're out of here." Pyrrha said pointing to Blake.**

"**We're not going yet." Jaune said turning around to face Pyrrha.**

"**The rendezvous is 10 miles away." Pyrrha said, "you think the chopper'll wait?"**

"**Pyrrha, we make a stand now, or there will be nobody left to go to the chopper." Jaune told her before going back to the rest of his team.**

"**There is something else." Blake said getting his attention. "When the Faunus was killed, you must have wounded it. Its blood was on the leaves." She told him.**

"**If it bleeds, we can kill it." Jaune said already forming a plan.**

"Ah yeah," Yang said throwing her fist in the air. "Man, that's another one I can't wait to use."

Weiss was about to retort but stopped when Blake shook her head and Weiss bit back her comment.

"So, how are they going to kill it?" Ruby asked taking a small bite out of her cookie.

"Lay a trap, would be my guess." Qrow said taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Indeed," Winter said feeling a bad taste in her mouth for agreeing with Qrow.

"I am anxious to see what traps they will utilize." Port said looking forward to the traps.

"Maybe we should go camping as a group exercise." Jaune said and everyone in his team agreed though for different reasons. Ren wanted to spend the night under the stars and look for new herbs. Pyrrha and Nora wanted to cuddle next to Jaune to keep each other warm during the cold nights.

**Neptune set a claymore in the tree branches and covered it with moss, once everything is in place he made sure the wire is secured and pulled the pin out arming the claymore. Changing scenes showed Ren and Jaune throw a rope around a tree and start pulling it down, both are struggling to pull it down.**

**Nora climbed up a tree and started cutting the vines that Blake collected. Rolling the vines up Blake took it and threw upon a pile of other vines. Neptune stood on a log and threw a bundle of rope to Ren who began to tie it. Pyrrha stood over Blake as she weaved vines together to create a makeshift net.**

"**You really think this boy-scout bullshit's gonna work?" Pyrrha asked Jaune who is tying off a rope.**

"**It can see our tripwires. Maybe it can't see this." Jaune said after making sure the rope is tied off and walked off. "Instead of complaining, maybe you should help." he suggested to Pyrrha as he walked by her. Pyrrha scoffed and did a mock salute.**

"Boy scouts?" Port asked curious.

"The boy scouts are an organization that young boys can join." Spart told them appearing next to Port with a small can of soda floating next to him with a straw. This drew a lot of looks from the audience but they decided to let it go. "They teach young boys survival techniques such as tying knots, fishing and other outdoor activities. They also have a female counterpart named the girl scouts." Screens appeared showing them the various activities that the boy scouts do making Port's eye sparkle as he watched young boys learn different techniques for the outdoors.

**Ren, Pyrrha, Neptune and Jaune worked together to pull a tree down to the ground to help in their trap. Pyrrha wore a brown tank top while the others didn't have shirts on showing off their muscles and the sweat making them shine in the sunlight.**

"Damn," Sun said at the sight of the muscles that make his look small.

"Looking buff there, P-money." Yang said getting to blush at the complement. Pyrrha watched Jaune and his muscular form on screen wondering if she can get him to that level. All that girls that have a crush on Jaune saved the image of a sweaty muscular Jaune carrying them in a princess style.

"I'm buff!" Nora said flexing her arms to show off her muscles getting Ren to chuckle at his partner.

Jaune took a deep breath to calm himself and to control the heat he felt at seeing Pyrrha in a tank top covered in sweat. He looked at Pyrrha on screen and watched a bead of sweat make its way from her face to valley between her breasts. _'Bad Jaune, no sexual thoughts about your partner.' _Jaune chided himself for thinking such thoughts and then he looked at Pyrrha on screen and saw the way the tank top clung to her showing off her curves and even the outline of her nipples. _'Seems she doesn't wear a bra.' _Jaune thought to himself before mentally slapping himself and looked away from the screen.

'_Should I give him a private room and show the steamy bits of his marriage to RWBY, NP, Winter, Velvet, Sienna and Ilia?' _Spart thought after reading Jaune's mind. _'Would help him see how the others feel about him.' _

"Interesting." Port said analyzing the traps that are being set.

**Ren stepped onto the net and threw dead leaves onto the net to hide it before moving on to tie a rope around a spike and gave a thumbs up. **

**Finally finished setting up their traps Jaune and the rest hid in the leaves and waited. Neptune pulled out his blue razor and ran it over his chin, he pressed the razor into his skin hard enough to draw blood and broke the head of the razor. Pyrrha looked at him with concern.**

"**What makes you think he'll come in through here?" Pyrrha asked Jaune.**

"**There are tripwires on every tree for 50 yards." Jaune told Pyrrha before gesturing to the small clearing where they set their trap. "This is the only way in." He said before Pyrrha moved to a different spot.**

"**When I was little, we found a man." Blake said breaking the silence in the group. "He looked like… like he was butchered. The old women in my village prayed and said strange things that I didn't understand." She said as Nora looked at her. "Only in the hottest years this happens. And this year it grows hot. We began finding our hunters."**

"**We found them sometimes without their skin, and sometimes much, much worse." Blake shivered as she recalled the memories, Jaune looked at her recognizing that what happened to Cardin has been happening for a while. "My mother told me that a demon lives in the jungle. She called it "The demon that makes trophies of hunters.""**

"That sounds like something my mother told me." Kali said thinking back to what her mother told her. "She said that a demon lives in the heart of Menagerie that kills anyone attempting to approach it. She called it "the demon that lives in the heart."" Kali told her daughter and Blake couldn't help but shiver at the short tale.

"Is there any truth to that tale?" Sun asked.

"We find dead hunters near the heart of the island." Ghira said, "that section of the island is forbidden to everyone but some don't listen."

"Every legend has a hint of truth to them." Ozpin said thinking to the tale of the Four Maidens.

**The sounds of birds grabbed everyone's attention as they looked at the trees and saw nothing. "So, what are you gonna try next? Cookies?" Pyrrha asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Jaune didn't say anything but got up and left the hiding spot. "Hey, Jaune. Jaune!"**

**Jaune didn't respond as he stepped out into the clearing making sure to watch where he steps so he doesn't set off the traps. Moving forward his right foot got caught on something, looking down he sees that his foot his caught on the trip wire. Making sure to remove his foot carefully and continued walking making sure to keep an eye on the trees, stopping he eyed the trees before relaxing and turned around before the net sprung up catching an unseen prey. Screeching could be heard as everyone ran out of hiding. **

"They got it!" Ruby yelled jumping out of her seat.

"Just because it's trapped doesn't mean that it still isn't dangerous." Tai said to his daughter who puffed out her cheeks adorably getting Summer to gush before speeding over leaving white petals in her wake. Summer picked up her daughter and crushed her in a hug.

"So cute!" Summer squealed as Tai chuckled at the sight.

Summer set Ruby down and sat down next to her daughters as the others made room for her.

**An explosion knocked everyone back, a blue ball came from the net and hit a large tree branch causing it to break free. Vines wrapped around the broken tree branch turning it into a makeshift pendulum, everyone jumped out of the way save for Nora who saw it too late and got hit by it flinging her back a few feet.**

**The creature jumped out of the net and onto the tree while Neptune rolled onto his side and started shooting at the faint outline. Pyrrha looked at the outline with shock as it leaned out from the tree, its cloak disabled revealing itself to Pyrrha. A pauldron covered its right shoulder and a cylinder object sat on top of the pauldron looking like a weapon. What appeared to be dreadlocks with silver and gold rings on them appeared to be the hair. A necklace made from the bones of different animals sat around its neck. The creature activated its cloak and disappeared before running off.**

"**Got you, motherfucker! I got you!" Neptune yelled as he started shooting. "I'm coming!" he yelled as he took off in pursuit of the creature that killed his friend.**

"He's letting his emotions get the better of him." Winter said having seen the same thing before.

"He'll only end up harming his team." Ironwood added.

"Take this to heart students. Never abandon your teammates for anything." Glynda told them.

"**Neptune! Neptune!" Jaune yelled at his teammate took off. "Get Nora on her feet and get to the chopper." He ordered Ren before going off to chase Neptune only to be stopped by Pyrrha.**

"**Hold it. I'm going after Neptune." She told Jaune.**

"**That's not your style, Pyrrha." Jaune said**

"**Guess I picked up some bad habits from you. Now get your people the hell outta here." She told Jaune.**

"**You can't win this, Pyrrha."**

"**Maybe I can get even." She said before going after Neptune. **

"**Pyrrha." **

**Pyrrha turned around and caught a SMG that Jaune tossed to her so she now carried two. "Just hold on to that damn chopper." She said before going after Neptune.**

"Their numbers are dwindling." Kali stated.

"Hopefully, Jaune and the others can make it to the chopper." Ruby said hopefully.

**Nora is groaning in pain as Ren bandages her chest as Jaune runs to them. "She's busted up pretty bad, Major." Ren told Jaune.**

"**I can make it." Nora said through gritted teeth. "I can make it."**

"**Get the radio. Forget the rest." Jaune told Ren before kneeling and helping Nora up. "Come on, Nora." **

**Jaune and Blake carried Nora while Ren tailed behind them.**

**The scene changed to show Neptune still chasing the creature and ran up a sloped incline but tripped. Throwing his hat off he began crawling up the incline. Neptune stopped and began pulling out ammo belt attached to a bag on his vest. "Long tall sally, she's built sweet. She got everything that uncle John needs." Unzipping his vest which he removed. "Oh, baby, baby. I'm gonna have me some fun tonight." Grabbing his weapon, he began moving up the incline. "I'm gonna have me some fun" (x3).**

"Neptune really wants that thing dead." Ren said.

"Yeah, also. Thanks for patching me up, Nurse Ren." Nora said while hugging Ren. Li and An smiled at their son's friend.

"Anytime, Nora."

**Pyrrha found Neptune's discarded vest and followed his tracks. Stopping to catch her breath Pyrrha leaned against a tree and put the second SMG on her back.**

"**Over here." **

**Pyrrha heard a whisper and aimed her weapon trying to find the source.**

"**Over here."**

**Pyrrha slowly moved forward and jumped down a small incline. "Neptune?" Pyrrha slowly moved while crouched just as a hand grabbed her and pulled her back into some bushes.**

"**Shh…" Neptune whispered. "Out there. Past them trees." Pointing to the trees in front of them. "You see it?"**

**Pyrrha looked at where Neptune is pointing and saw nothing at first but then she saw a faint outline perched on a tree branch.**

"**I see you." Neptune said.**

"**I see it." Pyrrha said. "Yeah… I see it. You know, we can get this thing, Neptune." She said not taking her eyes off the outline. "You work you your way down there toward him. I'll get in back of him, flush him toward you. When I flush that son of bitch, you nail him."**

"A good tactic," Port said which both Ironwood and Winter agreed with.

"I don't think it will be that easy." Leon said getting everyone to look at him. "This creature has not only killed Cardin's team but also two of Jaune's team, who we have seen are very skilled in the art of combat. Not to mention the trap they set didn't work."

"You never know, Pyrrha and Neptune could pull it off." Ruby responded.

"I know my partner. If anyone can pull it off, it's her." Jaune told his father making Pyrrha blush at his complement.

"I don't doubt that, son." Leon said. "But this creature has proven to be very effective in outthinking its prey."

"We'll see what happens." Blake said silently hoping that the plan Pyrrha made works.

"**I got a score to settle." Neptune said thinking back to Sun and the promise he made.**

"**We've both got scores to settle." Pyrrha told him before moving to flank the creature. Neptune went into the prone position and began crawling to the creature while Pyrrha made sure to stay in the bushes. Neptune crawled under some tree roots on his back but stopped when something caught his eye. On his left arm is three red dots, moving so he could see between the roots. Neptune's eyes open widely as the red dots are on his head, Neptune's blood flew out from the back of his head and landed on the camera turning the screen red.**

"Shit," Sun said before looking to Neptune who looked shocked at seeing himself die. Weiss flinched at seeing her ex die and gagged as his blood bathed the screen.

**Pyrrha stopped when she heard something but kept moving. Neptune's body collapsed onto the logs, the back of his head as a hole and blood flowed from the wound dying his blue hair red. The camera changed to show an upward angle to show the outline of the creature standing on the roots, a red laser disappeared from where the head would be. The invisible creature made a low clicking sound before moving on leaving the body as the leg twitched.**

"That bastard knew where he was." Ironwood stated clenching his fists in anger at the sight of another soldier dying at the hands of that thing.

"How did it know?" Weiss asked taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"It has infrared vision." Blake said remembering the scene of the camp where the creature revealed its hand. "It could see their body heat, not mention when the cloak is active it is hard to tell where the creature is looking." She stated getting the older hunters to nod as they figured it out earlier. Glynda is happy that her lessons on paying attention to your opponent is paying off.

**Blake went ahead of the group. "Quickly!" she called her over shoulder as Jaune held Nora up. Nora tripped and dropped her grenade launcher which Blake went to pick up. "Don't! Leave it." Jaune said stopping Blake from picking up the weapon. "It didn't kill you because you weren't armed." He helped Nora move as Blake and Ren stayed close to them. "No sport in it."**

**The camera changed to show Pyrrha moving down a slope and moving to a small bush that hides her. She is in position and now just needs to coordinate with Neptune. "Neptune," she whispers. "Neptune," she whispers again pushing some leaves away to see Neptune's body with a hole in his head.**

"**Any time." Neptune's voice gets Pyrrha's attention as she turns around with her weapon aimed at the trees and scanning the trees. Pyrrha looks at the trees but doesn't see anything a flash of yellow eyes that Neptune described appears. Taking aim, she fires her weapon at her target as a red laser appears followed by a blue ball that impacted against her right arm. **

**Pyrrha screams as her right arm is severed above the elbow, her arm falls to the ground still holding the trigger down causing her weapon to continuously fire.**

"Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaims at seeing Pyrrha lose her arm. Pyrrha holds her right arm as she watched her counterpart get wounded.

Everyone is worried for the female Spartan's health and the knowledge that what they are seeing is another universe and they can't help didn't sit well with them.

**Pyrrha held in her screams as she saw the creature running towards her at high speeds that no normal human is capable of. Taking the second SMG off her back Pyrrha takes aim just as she sees two serrated blades appear. The cloaked creature stabbed Pyrrha in the stomach and lifted her off the ground, Pyrrha screamed.**

Like before, Pyrrha is unnerved at seeing her own death. Jaune wraps an arm around her shoulders and brings her into a hug. Pyrrha is ecstatic at the close contact with Jaune much to the ire of the other girls that like the blonde knight.

'_I want him to hold me like that.' _Ruby, Nora and Velvet thought.

Emilia watched the interaction between Pyrrha and Jaune and smiled at the sight. Then she noticed the looks the three other girls gave Jaune. _'My baby boy has the affection of four young ladies, oh my! Think of the grandchildren!' _In Emilia's mind she saw multiple grandchildren with different hair colors to spoil. _'I'll have to have a talk with all of them and soon.'_

Leon couldn't help but feel like his wife is planning something and decided to file that feeling away for the moment.

**Jaune and his group crossed a river using a fallen log as a bridge when they heard Pyrrha's screams echoes through the forest. Everyone stops when they hear the screams and Jaune has a look of disbelief on his face.**

"**Let's go." He says as Nora grunts in pain as they continue. Ren throws the radio and his weapon off the bridge and into the river. Hearing the splash Jaune turns around to see removing his vest along with his vest. "Ren!" He shouts but Ren ignores him.**

"Why is Ren ignoring him?" Ruby asked.

"He is staying behind to buy some time for his friends." Li said recognizing the look Ren has in many hunters and huntresses that stay behind to buy their teammates time to escape.

"He is going to die a warrior's death." An says feeling sorrow at the knowledge her son is going to die. Li hugs his wife to comfort her.

**Ren takes off his necklace wrapping the strings around his left hand and grabs his machete. Jaune knowing what he is doing nods before telling Blake to move, Jaune and other two leave Ren on the bridge. Ren makes a cut on his chest then points the blade at the trees. **

**Blake climbs up some roots and turns around to help Jaune lift Nora up. "Give me the gun!" she yells before Jaune gives her his weapon so he can lift Nora with the help of Blake.**

**Infrared POV**

**The camera changes to show Ren's heat signature on the bridge.**

**Normal POV**

**Switching back Ren doesn't show fear as he faces his opponent**. **Blake runs ahead of Jaune and Nora before Ren's screams of pain sounds throughout the jungle. Quickly turning around Jaune and Nora aim their weapons down the path they just took. Blake is nervous while Nora is shaking, seeing something in the trees Blake tries to warn them but is too late when another blue ball was fired and hits Nora in the side of the head killing her. Jaune falls to the ground and rolls to recover, Blake sees the gun that Nora dropped.**

Everyone flinched at Nora's death, slowly the teens are getting use to the brutality that is being shown. Nora shuddered at the sight of her death but felt something encase her hand, looking down she sees Jaune has leaned over Ren and held her hand in comfort earning a smile from Nora.

"Blake, please don't." Kali said worried that her kitten is going to try for the gun.

"**No!" Jaune shouted seeing Blake pick up the gun and quickly got to his feet as she picked up the SMG. **

"**Run!" Blake yelled aiming at the tree the shot came from. Before she could pull the trigger Jaune kicked the gun out of her hand and fired his weapon at the tree while Blake ran ahead. Jaune stopped firing and saw the outline lean out of the tree and fired at him, the projectile impacted against Jaune's vest right in the chest. Jaune is flung onto his back from the impact.**

"**Run! Go!" Jaune shouts at Blake who looks at him with concern. "Get to the chopper!" He orders her and Blake runs leaving Jaune behind. Jaune got to his back and reached for the clasps holding his vest in place and undid them, throwing his vest to the ground showed it to be smoking and burning where the projectile hit it. **

Jaune is worried for himself and hopes that Blake makes it out. Kali sighs in relief when Jaune kicked the gun out of Blake's hand. She knows that the Jaune on screen isn't the same one sitting a few seats down from her but she can't but feel thankful to him for protecting her kitten.

"Thank you, Mr. Arc." Ghira tells the young man who nods.

"It seems you're still looking out for everyone, Jaune." Pyrrha says to her partner who smiles at her.

**Jaune is running through the jungle hoping that it is chasing him and not Blake. **

**Infrared POV**

**The creature is watching Jaune as he runs through the jungle and zooms in on in.**

**Normal POV **

**The camera follows Jaune as he runs through the jungle.**

**Infrared POV**

**The creature is right behind Jaune and is catching up.**

"Run, Jaune, run!" Ruby shouts fearing for her friend/crush's life.

"Sick bastard." Saphron said holding her wife's hand. "He's toying with Jaune."

"What do you mean?" Nora asks while eating some popcorn.

"The creature could have killed Jaune while he was down and vulnerable." Oobleck began explaining. "Instead it let Mr. Arc get away. Now it is chasing him down."

"Like a sick game of tag." Ren said earning a nod from Oobleck.

**Jaune continued to run even he tripped and fell down a hill and began sliding down the muddy hill. "Oh, shit." Jaune said after seeing that he's approaching a cliff. Sliding off of the cliff Jaune saw a lake with a small waterfall and hoped that it deep enough. Approaching the surface of the water Jaune straightened his legs and arms before he hit the water.**

"Please be ok." Weiss surprising everyone by her concern. "What? I can't show concern for my friend?" she asked after seeing their looks.

"Just surprising, that's all, Weiss cream." Yang said getting Weiss to scowl at the blonds while her sister and mother raised an eyebrow at her nickname.

**Jaune managed to get his above the water but is carried by the current off a second waterfall. Rising above the water Jaune sees land and begins swimming toward land. Crawling out of the water Jaune rests in the mud and catches his breath when the sound of something hitting the water gets his attention. Rolling onto his side gets more mud to cover his body as he rolls onto his back and moves back until he hits tree roots. Reaching for his pistol only to see it missing, Jaune curses his luck and spreads his arms to grab the roots of the tree in an attempt to blend in with the roots.**

**The creature rises out of the water allowing Jaune to see what he dealing with. It's cloaking field is flickering in and out and blue sparks appear all over its body, reaching for the gauntlet on its left arm and pushing some buttons ends the blue sparking. The creature looks in Jaune's direction causing Jaune to hold his breath.**

**Infrared POV**

**The creature looks at the tree roots only to see nothing and continues to look until it sees a heat signature in a log. A red triangle appears and zooms in on the heat signature and locks on.**

**Normal POV**

**Jaune watches as a red beam emanates from the side of creature's mask and the cylindrical object on its left pauldron comes to life and aims at the log before firing. A bright blue ball comes from the barrel of gun and hits the log causing a small explosion with sparks flying everywhere.**

Ruby goes wide eyed after seeing what the weapon can do. "OHMYGODDIDYOUSEETHATIWONDERWHATTYPEOFWEAPONISTHATIWANTTHATTARGETIGNSYSTEMFORCRESCENTROSE." Ruby said in a rapid pace that everyone who isn't used to Ruby wonder what she said.

"Calm down, Ruby." Yang said getting Ruby to calm down. Ruby is a weapon nut after all and so seeing new weapons is always exciting for the young reaper.

"It looks to be energy based." Ruby said already breaking down the creature's weapon and theorizing what the internal mechanisms can be. "How do you work?" she whispered to herself wondering how the creature is able to fire the weapon without pulling a trigger.

"You do realize that the weapon you are gushing about is responsible for killing most of Jaune's team." Weiss said getting Ruby to deflate and Yang to throw a glare at Weiss which she ignored.

"Can such a weapon exist?" Glynda asked as such a weapon can be useful against the Grimm.

"No," Penny spoke up after drinking her hot coco with milk leaving her with a milk mustache. "Attempts have been made to create such a weapon but it just isn't feasible with the technology available." She said but it was hard for everyone to listen as they were trying to hold in their laughter at the sight of the milk mustache.

Finally, Ruby spoke up and a mirror appeared showing Penny what is on her face. Penny excused herself and wiped the milk mustache away.

**Jaune watched as the creature kick open the log only for a small animal to run out of the log. The creature growled in frustration before looking around the area near the water. Everywhere the creature looked its weapon followed. The creature decided to move on as it left the lake and headed back into the jungle.**

**Jaune breathed out in relief at seeing the creature leave. Jaune grabbed some mud off his body and look at it. "He couldn't see me." He said having found a way to hide from the creature.**

"Talk about a _muddy _situation." Yang said with a smile as Tai laughed and Summer chuckled while everyone groaned.

"I wonder what I'm planning on doing now." Jaune asked himself as he looked at the screen and everyone wondered the same thing.

**Jaune covered himself in mud and made his way away from the lake and back into the jungle. Stopping near a large tree he sees a small crevice with two roots going over it. Stepping under the roots and through the crevice, Jaune examines the area and notices that it is a good place for another trap.**

"It would appear the Mr. Arc is attempting to kill the creature." Winter said after getting a refill on her tea.

"That thing killed Jaune's entire team with little difficultly. What are his chances at killing it?" Weiss said getting glares from the students of Beacon and some of the teachers. Weiss shrunk a little but remained steadfast.

"You need to have better faith in your teammates, Miss Schnee." Glynda says pushing her glasses up so the light reflects them and hides her eyes, giving her a more menacing look.

"Weiss, why are you mean?" Ruby asked her partner.

"I'm not being mean, Ruby. I'm being realistic." Weiss tells her partner. "We just saw that thing kill Cardin's team and Jaune's whole team without much difficulty. Their trap didn't work and he is just one man."

"I'm guessing that I won't be relying solely on traps this time around." Jaune spoke up getting everyone to look at him. Jaune shrunk into his seat but an encouraging smile from Pyrrha filled Jaune with confidence. "Now that I know what I'm dealing with I'll be readjusting my strategy to counter the creature and even the fight."

"It pays to know your enemy." Sienna says looking to the Schnee's.

"Keep watching and you'll see." Spart said floating down from his spot above the audience. Everyone agrees and focuses back on the screen.

**Jaune is currently tying sticks that have been sharpened into spikes to the roots above the crevice. Setting his knife aside Jaune lays some vines down in between the roots so they lay on the ground and camouflages them with dry leaves. Next he is on his back in the middle of the crevice and is pulling a vine attached to a log that he found, pulling the log as high it can go so it can it act as the counter weight. Jaune ties it off before going to work on the release mechanism. Tying the end of the vine holding up the log to a stick he places the stick in a notch that he carved in the roots and gently let's go, surprisingly the stick doesn't break under the weight and holds.**

**The scene changes to show the body of Ren looking bloody as the creature digs its hand into Ren's back and pull out his spine along with his skull and roars before kicking the body off the tree branch. The body then stops suspended in midair as it hangs upside down. The creature puts the bloody skull that still has bits of flesh clinging to it before a white smoke covers it.**

Everyone gagged at the sight and some even started dry heaving but nothing came out. Ruby for the first time in her life wanted revenge. She wanted to go into the screen and go to the universe they are watching and help Jaune kill that monster. She wanted to separate its head from its body and hang the body upside down from the trees just like it did to the others. For the first time in her young life she wanted to physically hurt someone and she isn't the only one with that thought.

"Trophies." Raven said.

"What?" Yang said as her eyes turned red.

"He's taking trophies." Raven explained having done the same herself although for her its mostly weapons and collectables from her raids.

"A hunter, indeed." Ghira said.

**Jaune sat in the trees with a small fire working on something. He is tying sticks together with the small vine in his mouth as he makes sure the bindings are nice and tight. The scene transitions to show Jaune bending the sticks over his shoulder, another transitions shows Jaune stringing a bow. Another transition reveals Jaune holding his makeshift bow with a nocked arrow and let go. The arrow flies and imbeds itself in a small tree, the arrow actually goes through the trunk. Moving on Jaune checks the pouches on his belt and pulls out two grenade rounds for his grenade launcher and some waterproof matches, taking his knife he loosens and removes the cap on one of the grenade rounds. Taking a leaf, he empties the explosive powder onto the leaf before wrapping the leaf up.**

"Quite impressive how he is able to make a bow from nothing." Port says proud at Jaune for making a weapon from nothing.

"In this universe, Jaune is part of the special forces group known as the green berets." Spart said appearing next Port with a cup of hot tea. "They bring in survival experts to teach their recruits everything they need to know about surviving in the harshest of environments. They are taught how to make a combat knife from scratch and how to make traps. Things that this Jaune is using." Spart said before going back to his position.

Ironwood is impressed at the "green berets" level of training and can't but feel like they need soldiers like that in the Atlas military. Maybe he could find a way to this universe and recruit one of these "green berets" for the Atlas military. Spart just shook his 'head' at Ironwood's thoughts.

**The scene changed to show the creature opening a case to show a collection of skulls that are clean of blood and polished. One of the skulls has a hole in it showing it to be Neptune's. The creature takes a skull in its hand before running his finger across it with affection.**

Nobody said anything at the display, it only showed just what type of monster this creature really is and they are rooting for Jaune to kill it.

Spart had another reason for showing this universe first. It is meant to harden the students of Beacon to the harsh reality of a hunter's life, they are going to see things that are going to shock them and make them sick. This is to prepare them for what they may see, things that Beacon and the other academies don't teach them. The one thing he isn't going to change in the new world line is the presence of the Grimm. Focusing back on the screen as they are approaching the ending.

**Jaune goes back to the lake and begins to cover himself in mud, once he is fully covered Jaune grabs his bow, arrows and a makeshift torch. Walking on top of a fallen tree Jaune looks to the moon over the jungle, lighting two waterproof matches on a stub and then lighting the torch. Jaune waits for the torch to be fully engulfed in fire. "Aaaaagh!" Jaune yells at the top of his lungs as he raises the torch above his head. His yell can be heard throughout the jungle.**

"What is that dolt doing?" Weiss asks wondering what his plan is.

"He's drawing the creature to him." Ironwood says.

"Into the area I'm familiar with." Jaune says after realizing what his other self is doing. "Fighting on my turf. So to speak."

"Clever." Ozpin says taking a sip of his coffee.

"Break its legs, fearless leader!" Nora shouts before shoving a fistful of popcorn into her mouth.

**The scene changes to show the creature looking to the direction of the yell. Taking the laser from its mask, it runs the laser back and forth over the gauntlet blades. After a few passes they begin to glow red.**

**Switching back to Jaune, he waits for a few seconds before tossing the torch to a pile of logs that he made earlier, creating a bonfire. Jaune runs to a tree before climbing it and hugs the branch so he blends in and waits. **

**The scene changes to briefly show the creature jumping from tree to tree displaying its impressive agility before it activates its cloak. Going back to Jaune who is still waiting until he hears something behind him. The outline of the creature appears behind Jaune moving down the tree. Slowly turning his head to see the invisible creature pass him, Jaune uses a vine to swing from the tree he is using to another tree and wraps his arms around the trunk to blend in just in time as the creature looked into the trees.**

**Infrared POV**

**The creature made a passing glance at the glance at the trees and right at Jaune but didn't see him.**

"Hah! He figured out your weakness!" Pyrrha shouted at the screen. Everyone who knew the reserved nature of the Spartan looked at her in surprise. "What?"

"Nothing…" Yang said.

**Normal POV **

**Jaune watched as his target jumped from the tree onto the ground and begaa walking on a fallen tree with the bonfire burning in the back. Reaching behind him, Jaune pulled out three arrows and one of the grenade rounds which he turned into an explosive arrow. Looking at the bonfire Jaune can see the outline of the figure more clearly.**

"That's why I did that." Jaune said as everyone looked at him again for an explanation. "From what we've seen, that thing's cloaking is very good that the only way to see it is if it moves." He said and everyone agreed with him. "By creating a bonfire, I use that outline when it moves to my advantage. The light from the fire bounces off its cloak further defining the outline."

Everyone looks at the screen and just like Jaune said the light from the fire is making the creature more visible that everyone can see where it is stepping.

"Very clever, Mr. Arc." Port said.

"That is why I accepted you into Beacon, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said with a smile. "Outside the box thinking and coming up with tactics that many would find crazy."

"It would seem Mr. Arc is quite resourceful." Ironwood making a note to keep an eye on the boy.

**Nocking the explosive arrow, Jaune carefully aims and lets the arrow go. The arrow flies through the air and impacts on the ground in front of the creature creating a small explosion. The creature screeches in pain as the invisible cloak drops showing the creature, activating its main weapon to start shooting in random directions at the trees. Jaune shields his face from the sparks and debris that are generated from the explosions as the creature continues to shoot at their trees.**

**One of shots hits the tree that Jaune is hiding in and falls down, quickly getting up Jaune runs off while the creature shoots at him. Taking cover behind rock Jaune holds his side in pain, he feels something warm against his hand, examining his hand he sees blood. **

**The creature stops firing after losing Jaune, blue sparks appear all of its body. Examining its gauntlet reveals that it is damaged, pressing some buttons gets the sparking to stop.**

"No more hiding for you, asshole." Nora said with glee.

"Get him, Jaune." Ren said hoping for his friend to pull through.

**Jaune picked himself up and went to his second location and passed by a small tree branch to sway which the creature saw and went in the same direction of Jaune. Climbing down some rocks Jaune is crossing a tree bridge when the creature jumps in front of him, fortunately it isn't facing him. Looking for a place to hide Jaune looks down.**

"Where are you going to hide, Jaune?" Leon asked worried for his son.

"He's proven resourceful. I'm sure he'll surprise us." Ozpin said getting another refill of coffee.

**The creature looks around before walking across the bridge making sure to check the sides for anything. The camera moves under the bridge to show Jaune hanging on to the vines anchoring him to the underside of the tree.**

"See," Ozpin said with a smile after looking at everyone's expression.

"_Hanging _around, Jaune." Ruby said getting everyone who knows the red reaper to look at her with surprise. "What?" she asks after seeing their looks.

"Did…" Weiss says with a horrified expression.

"You…" Blake says sounding worried.

"Just…" Ren says with a smirk.

"Make…" Nora says with a giggle in her voice.

"A…" Jaune says with hidden amusement.

"Pun…?" Yang said with joy as she picked up her little sister and hugged her. "I'm so proud of you." Tai also embraced his two daughters and lifted the both of them off of the ground.

"My little rose made her first pun!" Tai exclaimed with excitement and happiness while Summer laughed at the sight.

"Can we resume watching the show?" Raven asked waiting the not wanting to see the sight before her. it reminded her what could have been hers had she stayed with Tai and Yang. Tai set his daughters down with a chuckle before returning to his seat next to Qrow.

**Jaune waited for the creature to pass before climbing back to the top of the tree and going to his weapon stash. Grabbing two spears, one that has his knife tied to the end and the other with the last grenade round and goes to hunt the creature. Jaune stops at a boulder and looks to the trees for any signs of the creature. Looking down he grabs a rock and throws it in a random direction.**

**Infrared POV**

**Seeing the rock fall the triangle appears and locks on to the rock before firing.**

**Normal POV**

**Jaune sees where the blast game from and prepares to throw the explosive spear.**

**Infrared POV**

**Tracking the rock back to where it was thrown another triangle appears, locks on and fires.**

**Normal POV**

**Jaune leaps out of cover just in time as the spot he was standing in explodes and throws the explosive spear hitting the spot next to the creature in the trees rewarding him with a screech. Grabbing his last spear Jaune moves to the area under the tree and sees bright green blood droplets. "Bleed, you bastard." Jaune says with following the blood trail.**

"Find him and break his legs, fearless leader!" Nora shouts at the screen hoping that her words of encouragement reach her crush to give him strength.

"Sure makes it easy to track." Velvet says before taking a sip of her carrot juice.

"Kind of wish the Grimm bleed bright glowing green blood." Qrow said in between sips.

"Would make them easier to track." Glynder said.

**Jaune follows the trail into a cave where he loses the trail as it stops. Suddenly he heard the sounds of dripping and the camera changes to show Jaune's face and bright green blood dripping behind him. Knowing that the creature is behind him Jaune grabs a makeshift grenade from his hip, the grenade has two matches which act as the fuse for the explosive powder wrapped inside the plant leaves. Lighting the matches Jaune tosses the grenade behind him and runs out of the tunnel leaving his spear behind just as the grenade goes off creating a flash of light that blinds the creature. Jaune jumps and grabs a tree branch but the branch is broken when it is shot and Jaune falls into the river below.**

"Oh no…" Pyrrha says realizing that Jaune is in trouble now that he is in the water as does everyone else.

"Please make it out." Ruby says.

"I'm sure he has everything covered, Rubes." Yang tells her sister.

**Jaune swims making sure to stay under the water until he reaches land. Exiting the water Jaune rests on a log before moving to get up, but before he can two blades appear on either side of his head preventing him from moving. The camera pans up to show the creature is pinning Jaune to the log, removing the blades allows to Jaune to see the creature just as its hand grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the ground. Jaune is held a tree by the throat as the creature turns his head to the left and then to the right. The creature leans in almost face to face to Jaune before letting him go, Jaune watches the creature as it walks away before turning to face him again and Jaune wonders how tall it is.**

"No kidding, that thing is huge." Yang said seeing the height difference the two. The creature is tall, very tall that it towers over Jaune.

"That's what she said." Nora said as everyone groaned except for Qrow and a few of the Arc sisters who chuckled.

"I'd estimate that the creature is roughly 7 to 9 feet tall." Oobleck said while studying the creature making sure to take in everything about it. Everyone is shocked to hear just how tall that thing might be.

"Why did it let me go, instead of killing me?" Jaune asks before taking a sip of his juice.

"I have a theory but I don't want to see until I'm sure." Ghira says.

**The creature reaches up to its mask and pulls out a two cables connecting to the weapon on his shoulder, each time a cable is removes a short burst of air hisses out of the cables. Jaune watches the creature wondering what it is doing. Removing another series of cables underneath the pauldron, the creature removes the weapon and drops it into the water.**

"I knew it." Ghira says snapping his fingers as everyone looks to him. "That thing wants to fight him without weapons."

"What?" All the Beacon students say at once.

"In some cultures, people engage in hand to hand if a weapon isn't present." Oobleck starts his explanation. "It could be that since Mr. Arc doesn't have a weapon, the creature wants to kill him on equal terms. Which means that the creature shows a level of intelligence." Oobleck says the last part with excitement.

"I've seen the same thing in bandit clans." Raven says. "Usually happens when someone new thinks they lead the clan and challenges the leader in one on one combat."

"Let us continue watching, I'm anxious to see how Mr. Arc fairs." Port says as everyone focuses back on the screen.

**The creature then removes two cables from the underside of its mask before placing its hands on the front of the mask and removes it before tossing it aside. The vision also changes from infrared to bright red with elements of infrared since the creature can still see Jaune's body heat. Jaune sees the creatures face for the first time.**

"That is disgusting," Weiss says growing pale at the sight of the creatures face for the first time.

"I've seen some shit in my day. But, that takes the cake." Qrow says before taking a big drink from his glass.

"That is unsettling," Ironwood says in shook and Winter agrees although she would've used a different term to describe what she is seeing.

'_I think even Salem would be unnerved at this sight.' _Ozpin thinks having lost his taste for coffee.

"Now that's a face for radio." Yang says while Ruby covers her face with her hood while Summer comforts her daughter to come out of her hood. Both Sienna and Ilia are shocked beyond words at what they are seeing and for two Faunus to be shocked by what they are seeing is saying something. Turns out all of the Faunus in the room feel the same way.

"Fascinating. It still sees in infrared but on another spectrum." Oobleck says wishing he had his scroll so he can take a picture for study.

"Not the words I'd use, Dr." Glynda says.

**The creature has four mandibles with short tusks on the end and flaps of skin connecting them, it has no upper or lower lips only sharp teeth on the upper and lower jaw. The eyes sockets are sunken in giving the creature a more menacing appearance as yellow eyes can be seen against the darkness of the sockets. It has no nose and a large dome like forehead with what appeared to be small spikes sticking out of the side of the head.**

**Jaune looks at the creature in disbelief before speaking. "You are one ugly motherfucker." **

"Took the words right out of my mouth, kid." Tai says as everyone chuckles at what Jaune said.

"A good description." Blake says.

**The creature roars opening its mandibles and crouching as it moves toward Jaune who back away. Finding a broken branch Jaune waits for the creature to get closer before swinging the branch at it aiming for the head. The creature blocked the attack and the branch breaks just from impacting with the arm. **

"**Bad idea." Jaune says looking to the broken branch before the creature backhands Jaune knocking him away a good threw feet and into the water.**

"Holy shit!" Yang says after seeing Jaune fly after being it. She can do that but she really put her back into while the creature just looked like it didn't really try.

"I'm starting to see why it was a bad idea." Jaune said feeling the side of his cheek and feels a slight tingling sensation where he got hit by the creature.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha whispered hoping that her crush is going to be ok as did every girl with a crush and the Arc Family.

**Jaune rises out of the water and scrambles out of the water with the creature right behind him. Climbing over some rocks just in time as the creature swung his arm, its nails creating sparks showing that its nails are just as deadly as its blades. Turning around Jaune hits the creature in the face stopping it which surprises Jaune. The creature looks at Jaune with one mandible is moving back and forth before it punches Jaune two times and uppercuts him throwing Jaune back. Jaune knows that he is outclassed so he decides to run only for the creature to catch up and elbow him in the ribs and punching him causing Jaune to spit blood from his mouth.**

Everyone winces at the sight of Jaune getting beaten by the creature that is way stronger than him.

"Hang in there, Jaune." Nora yells at the screen before holding out a flag that has a picture of chibi Jaune and the words "Go! Jaune!" written in bold next to chibi Jaune. "I know you got a back-plan in the works."

"Where did you get that?" Yang asks after seeing the flag.

"I keep it with me to provide awesome moral support to our fearless leader." Nora explained before everyone focused back on the screen.

**The creature roared again as it punched Jaune in the face drawing more blood and knocking him to the ground. Jaune started to crawl away while the creature walked behind him slowly allowing Jaune to get a good distance from the creature. Seeing the crevice Jaune crawled into the crevice and almost set off his own trap as he crawled through the small crevice and leaned against the tree so he is facing the small crevice.**

**The creature stops just before the crevice and kneels down to look at Jaune. Looking down Jaune sees the stick keeping his trap in place. "Come on. Come on! Do it! Do it!" He yells while gesturing to the creature to come at him.**

"He's trying to goad it to falling into his trap." Blake says while her bow twitches slightly in pain as Blake winces. Kali sees this and sighs wondering why her daughter is hiding her Faunus heritage.

"Let's hope it works this time." Port says before drinking his brandy.

**The creature moves but stops when is feels something press against its forehead. Looking up it sees the spikes that Jaune placed earlier and grabs one of them. "Come on. Come on! Kill me! I'm here! Kill me!" Jaune continues to shout trying to goad the creature.**

"**I'm here! Kill me! Come on! Kill me! I'm here!" The creature looks at Jaune. "Come on! Do it now! Kill me!" He shouts but the creature ignores Jaune and goes around the crevice much to Jaune's dismay.**

"Looks like it didn't fall for it." Port says disheartened that Mr. Arc's counterpart is going to die.

"At least the kid fought. Rather than run and die." Qrow said.

"Don't say that uncle Qrow!" Ruby yells at her uncle causing her eyes to flare slightly. "Jaune will find a way out of this." She says but Qrow and Tai don't say anything as they both saw her eyes flare and they both know what that means. Tai makes a note to mention it to Summer.

"Yeah! Fearless leader will survive. You'll see." Nora says with convection that warms Emilia's heart knowing that her son has good friends.

"You have to understand. Jaune has nothing left, his trap didn't work and right now he's probably going to die at the hands out that thing." Qrow tells them.

"Let's just see how it ends." Glynda says shooting them her famous glare.

**Jaune sighs as the creature jumped down from the top of crevice and lands next to Jaune. Looking to the creature Jaune then sees the counter weight that he set up for his trap right above the creature. Smirking to himself he quickly looks to the stick holding his trap and breaks it setting off the trap and letting the counter weight fall. The creature looks up and is crushed by the log.**

"Yeah!" Pyrrha, Ruby, Velvet and Nora all shout at the same time. Jaune is smiling at himself for pulling off a victory.

"Well done, Mr. Arc." Glynda tells Jaune.

"He sure got the _drop _on him." Yang says with a smile that does get a few chuckles from members in the audience.

**Jaune sighs as his posture relaxes and he closes his eyes to rests his nerves when he hears the log moving.**

"No way in hell that thing is still alive." Leon says.

"Hush, just watch." Emilia tell her husband.

**Jaune grabs a nearby rock and goes over to the log ready to crush the creature's head in. when he sees the creature he stops; the creature is coughing up green blood and it is clear that it's no longer a threat to him. Throwing the rock away Jaune looks at the creature as it does the same. "What the hell are you?" he asks.**

"**What the hell are you?" The creature responds with a guttural and distorted voice. The creature raises it left arm and presses a button with his right hand, a panel opens up and it presses a few buttons in a pattern before the gauntlet comes to life displaying symbols that Jaune doesn't recognize followed a beeping noise.**

"Run, Jaune!" Weiss yells at the screen forgetting that Jaune is sitting behind her as she recognized what the beeping meant. Everyone soon realizing what the beeping and scream at the screen for Jaune to run.

"Run, Vomit boy!"

"Start running!"

"Move your ass, bro!"

"Move!"

Jaune smiles as everyone yells at him to start running forgetting that Jaune is sitting with them.

**Jaune looks to the gauntlet as the beeping increases and one of the symbols disappear. Then the creature begins to chuckle as Jaune puts the pieces together and starts to run as the chuckle erupts into flown blown laughter. The laughter turns into Ren's laughter as the creature mimics it perfectly as continues to laugh.**

**Jaune pushes himself to run faster as the laughter echoes throughout the forest but then stops when explosions can be heard. Lightning sparks arc into the air, a glowing ball floats into the air and expands in size before imploding and unleashing a bright light.**

Everyone shields their eyes from the bright light.

**The camera changed to show a helicopter pilot who is struggling with the controls, sparks fly as something electronic exploded showing the cabin with sparks. "Did you get it?" The pilot asks a passenger who is shown to be General Ironwood. Ironwood grabs a fire extinguisher and puts out the sparks. **

"**I got it! I got it!" Ironwood says after getting the situation under control. Blake is covering her cat ears as she sits in the back of the cabin. The camera changes to show the copilot looking to something in the distance. **

"**What the…" He says and Ironwood looks out and sees a large cloud in the shape of a mushroom towering over the jungle. "My god!"**

"Holy…" Tai says seeing the large cloud.

"Shit." Summer finishes her husband sentence shocked at the sight.

"Jaune, please be ok." Pyrrha says getting Jaune to look at her.

**The camera changed to show the jungle floor covered in smoke, the trees are stripped of leaves leaving them bare and stripped of life. A large section of the jungle is now devoid of life and looks like something out of nightmare, a crater roughly 80 feet wide and 60 feet deep could be seen from the air. The helicopter starts to descend into the destroyed area of the jungle and clears some of the smoke to show Jaune walking through the destruction and towards the helicopter.**

**The helicopter hovers a few feet above the ground kicking up dirt and clears some of the smoke to show Jaune waiting for the helicopter. Inside the cabin General Ironwood is shocked to see the state Jaune is in and how he is the only one. Blake sees Jaune and happy that the man who saved her life is alive but she doesn't show it.**

**The scene changes to show Jaune sitting inside the cabin, he is covered in ash and has various wounds covering his body. The camera zooms in on Jaune's eyes, they look tired and move to see the passing jungle beneath the helicopter. The camera changes to show the helicopter flying over the jungle and going into the distance as the screen turns to black.**

"I'm glad that you survived." Ren tells his team leader/mate/ and brother.

"That laugh at the end was creepy." Weiss says recalling the way the creature laughed just like Ren before blowing up.

"I don't get why it allowed Jaune to get away." Neptune says as everyone looks in his direction. "The creature could have killed him by setting the bomb timer sooner, instead it set it and allowed Jaune to see. Giving him time to run and find cover."

"Huh, you're right." Sun said thinking back to the scene.

Jaune is about to say something when the screen came back to life.

**The scene showed the creature's mask buried in the mud with the top section sticking out. Suddenly it was lifted into air as it appeared to be floating in midair when a pair of hands appeared from nowhere as they held the mask to reveal another creature. This creature is similar to the one Jaune killed in terms of height and that is where the similarities end, the creature is wearing more armor and has two shoulder mounted weapons, one on each shoulder. A black cape with a deep rich red color on the inside hangs off the pauldron on the left shoulder.**

**The creature isn't wearing a mask showing its face, the face appears to be older based on the wrinkles on the face. Four more creatures appear as they drop their cloaking field behind the one holding the mask, one of them is holding a broken shoulder weapon. Making a guttural clicking sound the older creature turns around, his cloak and dreadlocks flaring out as it turned around. The creature passed by the four older ones who made room for it and walked forward with the others trailing behind.**

**Blue sparks appeared in the air and soon a large ship of unknown design appeared and a set of doors opened. The creatures entered the ship, once inside the doors closed and the ship lifted off the ground and flew into the air. The ship disappeared as it flew into the air. The scene changed to show Earth from space, the landmass of Remnant could be seen from space and soon the ship appeared flying away from the planet and fired something in front of the ship. A tear in space showed a different section of the galaxy and the ship passed through the tear, as soon as the ship passed the tear closed behind it.**

**The screen faded to black once again as guttural clicking could be heard followed by a roar.**

Spart flew to the front of the screen as the room lights appeared brightening the room. "That was our first showing of the multiverse." Spart told them. "What did you think?"

"It was dark as you said." Weiss said crossing her legs. "I still find it hard to believe that such a monster could exist."

"Actually, the Yautja or Predators exist in many universes." Spart told them getting them to pale at the news. "They even exist in your world."

"What!" Ozpin shouted at the news.

"Is that there called?" Oobleck asks. "The Yautja?"

"Yes, but everyone calls them Predators for short." Spart tells the Dr. before facing Ozpin. "They exist in a different world line." Everyone relaxes at the knowledge that they won't be facing a Predator the next time they go out on a mission.

"As for why the Predator letting Jaune go. It did so because Jaune earned the right to live." Spart tells Nepune as everyone listens especially Oobleck. "The Yautja hunt the most deadliest of species the galaxy has to offer and humans are at the top of that list. When they encounter a prey they deem worthy, they disarm their opponents and strip themselves of weapons save for their wrist blade. They fight in one on one combat and should they win, they take the skull of their prey but if they lose and die. Then that is considered the highest honor the Yautja can attain."

"So, to a Yautja. Dying during the hunt is considered a great honor." Ghira said.

"Correct, as for the taking of skulls. They don't take the skulls of every person they kill. They take the skulls of those they consider to be worthy." Spart said summoning a glass of water with a straw next to him.

"I see, so when Mr. Arc didn't kill the Yautja. He denied it the honor of dying." Oobleck said.

"Again correct. The only to retain his honor was to commit suicide." Spart said taking a sip of water.

"Interesting, and since Mr. Arc defeated the Yautja. He earned the right to live."

"Yes, everything else will be explained in this." Spart said before a thick book appeared on Oobleck's lap. Examining the book cover showed it to have the Predator mask above the title. '**A Guide to the history and culture of the Yautja. From clan wars to the hunting of xenomorphs.'**

"That is yours to keep, Dr. Oobleck."

"Thank you, for this gift." Oobleck says setting aside the book for later.

"The next showing will be lighter. Feel free to stretch your legs and converse with each other while I set up the next show." Spart told them as they rose. "After the next two showings, we'll take a break for dinner." Spart informed them before flying off while the others went into the lobby.

* * *

**A/N: Holy moly! This is by far the longest chapter that I've written. So as I stated at the start the updates will be slow as I want to focus on my other story. This is a bookmark that I will come back too also the chapters won't be as long as this, some might in the future but it won't be always. **

**The idea for the world lines came from Steins;Gate. A pretty good show (in my opinion). It deals with time travel and all that jazz.**

**With that out of the way. Thank you to all that took the time to read this fic. I ask for your patience in waiting for the story to update.**

**Thank you.**

**\\[T]/**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am blown away by the amount of favs and follows this story has gotten. From just one chapter only, this is amazing and thank you to everyone for reading this story. I went back and corrected the name of Jaune's sister and her wife thanks to everyone's commit on the mistake I made.**

**Be warned another long chapter ahead.**

**With that out of the way let's get on with the story.**

**Inspiration: SNL and Firefly**

* * *

While Spart set up the next showing everyone took his advice and went into the lobby to stretch their legs and to converse with one another.

"Go be with your family." James told Winter walking beside him.

Winter looks at him confused. "Sir?"

James smiled at her confusion, Winter is career soldier and in a few years might even replace him but she hardly spent time with her family which he could understand. "You have leave saved up and seeing as how we're going to be here for a while. You should spend them with your family."

"Sir, I—"

"Take the leave, Specialist." James ordered before leaving to talk with Ozpin. Winter clears her throat and approaches her sister.

"How are doing, sister?" Winter asked Wiess.

"I'm doing well, Winter." Weiss responded. "I still find it hard to believe everything that is going on."

"I agree, Weiss." Willow said standing next to Winter. Weiss and Winter looked at their mother surprised that she isn't holding a glass of wine or drunk for once. "I can only hope that in the new world line. I'm not married to that jackass Jacques."

Winter looked to her sister who smiled before looking to their mother. "I'm sure we can ask Spart to arrange that." She told her mother. The Schnee family continued to talk amongst themselves while the Xio Long family talked in another corner.

"Then we fought Torchwick in a giant robot underneath the pass and won!" Ruby tells her tale of the fight between RWBY and Torchwick. Yang tried to motion for her sister to stop as their father is looking at his youngest daughter like she just grew a second head.

"Young ladies, both you are grounded when we get out of here." Tai told his daughters.

"Tai, like you haven't done worse when you were their age." Summer said with a smile. "I seem to recall you and Qrow getting into a fight with bandits only two months after being accepted."

"Really, dad?" Yang crosses her arms while Ruby imitates her older sister making Tai sweat slightly.

"It doesn't change anything. Both of you are still grounded." Tai regained his composure eyeing both of his daughter until they relented. Summer smiled at the sight and frowned knowing that she missed out raising her daughters.

"Everything is going to be okay, Summer." Tai said wrapping an arm around Summer.

"That's right, short stack." Qrow said walking over to the family of four.

"It's good to see you again, Qrow." Summer hugs Qrow while he pats her head. "There, there short stack." Qrows says getting Summer to chuckle at her nickname as she lets him go.

"Glad to see that death hasn't changed you, Summer." Raven said stopping next to Qrow. Yang looks at her biological mother before looking away with a scoff.

"Good to see you again, Raven." Summer says with disdain at her former teammate. Raven looked at Summer with a surprised look at her tone. Tai got between the two before anything could happen between the two.

"Now is not the time." Tai says looking to Raven then to Summer who nods before going back to converse with her daughters. Ruby calls her team over and introduces them.

Jaune is currently being scolded by his mother for leaving for Beacon without saying a proper goodbye. His father chuckled at his son's boldness while his sisters cracked their knuckles getting Jaune to gulp in fear for his life.

"This is my team," Jaune quickly said gesturing to Pyrrha, Ren who is talking with his parents and introducing Nora.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Arc." Pyrrha does a small bow to Jaune's parents. _'She will make a lovely daughter in law.' _Emilia thought with a smile. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

"Please dear, call me Emilia. Mrs. Arc makes me sound old." Emilia tells Pyrrha.

"Call me Leon." Jaune's father tells her. "Who are the rest of your teammates?"

"Before that, you mean to tell us that Pyrrha freaking Nikos is your partner?" One of Jaune's sisters asks to which Jaune simply nods. One of the sisters approaches the redhead and bows.

"On behalf of the Arc's, I want to apologize for our brother's lack of training."

"Jaune is actually a good partner and team leader." Pyrhha tells the Arc family with a smile. _'She likes our brother.' _All of the Arc sisters think at once as they notice the way Pyrrha blushes and casts a glance toward the blonde knight.

Jaune sensing more questions on the horizon quickly proceeds to introduce the rest of his team to his family who nod at each of his teammates. After introducing his team Jaune is smacked on the back of the head by one of his sisters.

"Aren't you going to introduce us."

Jaune gives a goofy smile before turning to his team. "This is Saphron my oldest sister and her wife Terra Cotta Arc and their son, Adrian." Saphron holds Adrian in her arms who smiles and gets everyone in the room to coo at the child. "Then there is Olivia, Rosemary or Rose, Karen, Aqua, Susie and Jade." Jaune introduces his sisters starting from oldest to youngest. Everyone is shocked to hear that Jaune has seven sisters and they look to Leon who rubs the back of his head, a gesture that Jaun himself uses, while Emilia smiles at her large family.

Saphron is wearing a simple white dress. Olivia is wearing a simple outfit just a t shirt with a pair of black leggings. Rosemary wears a tank top with cargo pants, Karen wears a jump suit with the top portion tied around her waist and a pair of goggles resting on top of her head. Aqua wears a sundress with a ribbon intertwined in her hair and Susie wears a gothic dress. Jade wears a simple shirt and cargo shorts. Each of the Arc children have blonde hair and are styled to match their own personalities.

While Jaune is introducing his family, Ghira and Kali are talking with their daughter.

"Blake, please look at us." Ghira address his daughter when she doesn't look at them. Slowly she looks at her parents to reveal red eyes and tear streaks.

"I'm sor—" Blake said before Ghira embraces her as well as Kali. Blake cries into her father's jacket not that he minds. After a minute of crying Blake lets go of her father and Kali wipes her face with her sleeve.

"It's ok, Blake." Kali tells her daughter.

"But I called you cowards and left in the middle of the night." Blake tells her parents.

"It's ok, Blake." Ghira tells his daughter having asked a friend to keep an eye on her and feed him reports. "I'm proud of your decision to become a Huntress."

Blake hugs her father again while her mother smiles at the scene but frowns when she notices the bow on her head covering her feline ears. Blake will reveal her nature when she is ready and Kali won't pressure her. _'She's still a daddy's girl.' _Kali thinks and smiles warmly as Ghira and Blake are still hugging.

"Everyone please return to your seats." Spart said over the intercom, everyone heads back into the theater room and take their seats.

"This next showing will consist of two showings. The first is going to be a short skit and the other can be described as a space western." Spart told them, "the first showing will be light and the other does have some humor. Enjoy." He tells the audience before going back to his usual spot as the screen comes to life. "In the first showing Jaune and a few others are comedic actors doing a skit."

"Did you hear that, Pyrrha? Jaune is an actor." Nora says with a smile getting comfortable in her seat.

**The screen shows the outside of a building with the letters NPR glowing in red on the side of the building. The screens cuts to the inside of a recording studio with Weiss and Blake sitting in front of microphones and wearing headsets. Both ladies are wearing ugly Christmas sweaters with Weiss sitting on the left and Blake on the right and she has her ears on display for everyone to see.**

"Those sweaters are a crime against fashion." Coco said before lowering her glasses and glaring at the sweaters on screen like they are her longtime enemy. "They should be burned." Velvet shakes her head at her team leader knowing her stance on fashion.

"I think they look adorable." Nora says.

"What is Christmas?" Blake asks before ordering some tea and looking to her onscreen self for not wearing a bow. _'She's braver than me.'_

"Christmas is a holiday from where I'm from. It is meant to bring people together and celebrate the joys of life." Spart tells them from his spot. "It is also a time of gift giving."

"**Hello, I'm Margret Joe McCullen." Weiss speaks into the microphone.**

"**And I'm Terry Realto." Blake introduces herself.**

"**And you're listening to The Delicious Dish on National Public Radio." Weiss and Blake say at the same time.**

"Weiss cream and Blake are radio announcers?" Yang said trying to imagine it and couldn't help but think it wouldn't be a popular show.

"I'll have you know that people think I'm entertaining." Weiss tells Yang.

"Do they work for you?" Yang asks and Weiss doesn't respond but huffs.

"**Now, Terry. It's Christmas season again. Our favorite time of year." Weiss says looking to Blake who smiles.**

"**That's right, Margret Joe." Blake says looking to Weiss then to camera. "Holiday time is when the most wonderful culinary wishes come true. Now what's on your list this holiday season, Margret Joe?" Blake asks Weiss who smiles before schooling her features.**

"**Well Terry, I really got greedy this year." Weiss says with a smile on her face. "I'm asking Kris cringle for a wooden bowl, some over-sized index cards, and a funnel."**

"**Ooooh, a funnel." Blake says looking to the camera. "That'll be great for funneling."**

Yang laughs as Weiss and Blake on screen continue to smile while they are delivering their lines. Ruby is trying to contain her laughter even though nothing funny happened on screen. Just seeing Weiss and Blake trying not to laugh and act professional is making everyone in the audience smile or chuckle, even Weiss and Blake smile at themselves.

"**I feel like a glutton." Weiss says after Blake chuckles. "What's on your list, Terry?" Weiss asks.**

"**Well, I'm only asking Santa for one thing. A big box of glue traps to help me deal with my excessive rat problem." Blake says.**

Ruby breaks out laughing while Kali and Blake scowl at the mention of rat problems. Pyrrha giggles behind her hand and Ren smiles.

"**Now tell me, are you Margret Joe. Going to leave any treats out for Santa this year?" Blake asks Weiss.**

"**Oh absolutely. I always do." Weiss says. "I like to leave Santa some tap water and rice. If Santa is anything like me, Christmas foods really wreak havoc on the old digestive system." She looks to Blake. "What are going to leave, Terry?"**

"**Ahh, I can't ever leave food out in my apartment because I have an excessive rat problem." Blake responds.**

"**Santa's fun." Weiss says.**

"**Santa is fun." Blake says trying to hide her smile. "Good times."**

"**Good times." Weiss smiles back at Blake.**

"**Well, Christmas is a time for traditional foods and bite size treats." Blake says. "And we have a very special guest today."**

"**That's right, Terry. He's the owner of his own holiday bakery with a very, very clever name." Weiss says looking to Blake with a smirk. "Seasons Eating."**

Kali and Ghira laugh at the name and Yang holds her sides as she laughs.

"**That's really funny." Blake says with a hint of amusement on her voice.**

"**I know; it rhymes with season's greetings." Weiss says laughing and Blake joins in.**

"**Please, welcome the owner of Season's Eating. Pete Schweddy." Blake says as Jaune Arc enters the scene wearing a red flannel and has his hair combed back and puts on a headset.**

"What kind of name is Schweddy?" Weiss asks as everyone save for Raven and Seinna laugh at the name.

"Not many men can pull off a flannel." Coco says eyeing Jaune on screen much to the ire of Velvet.

'_Where are they going with this?' _Jaune thinks to himself.

"**Welcome."**

"**Welcome, Pete."**

"**I like the name of your store." Weiss tells Jaune.**

"**Hi, thanks for having me." Jaune says.**

"**Now did I pronounce your name correctly?" Blake asks looking to Jaune.**

"**You sure did, Pete Schweddy." Jaune says.**

"**Well, Pete. Terry and I have been looking forward to having you on the show." Weiss says to Jaune. "Cause we know that you're the master of all kinds of Christmas goodies. Tell us about them."**

"**Well, there are lots of great treats this time of year." Jaune says looking to Weiss then back to the camera. "Zucchini bread, fruit cake. But, the thing I most like to bring out this time of year is my balls."**

Pyrrha spits out her tea and begins blushing at the word. Yang starts laughing as does Ruby, Weiss and Winter look at the screen in shock.

"My word," Glynda says with a blush on her face.

"Something tell me, the best is yet to come." Tai says with a smile as he puts his arm around Summer to bring her close.

**Weiss and Blake look to Jaune then back to the screen. "Mmm, balls." Blake says. "Tell us about your balls, Pete."**

Blake now has a blush on her face at the word play.

"Just like chapter nine…" Kali says thinking back to her favorite book.

"Why are you laughing at friend Jaune's balls, friend Ruby." Penny asks innocently looking to Ruby. Ironwood covers his laugh with his hand. Nora and Ren burst out laughing at what Penny said.

"**Well, over at Season's Eating. We have balls of every taste." Jaune says while maintaining a straight face. "Popcorn balls, cheese balls, rum balls. You name it."**

"**Wow, my mouth's watering just thinking about those balls." Weiss says.**

Now it's Weiss's turn to blush at the word play. Even though they are talking about food, it's hard not to think about the other balls.

"This is great!" Yang exclaims.

"**It's been years since I've seen any balls." Blake says with a straight face.**

"And you won't. Not until your thirty." Ghira tells his daughter who blushes.

"Come dear, it's a joke." Kali scolds her husband who just rolls his eyes.

Yang leans in close to Blake, "Whose balls do you want to see, Sun's or Jaune's?" she asks the cat Faunus who doesn't reply but wipes away a nosebleed.

"**Would you like to see my balls now?" Jaune asks Weiss and Blake who look to each other then back to the camera.**

"**Yeah," Blake says.**

"**Whip 'em out." Weiss says.**

"Straight to the point, Weiss cream." Yang says to her teammate with a grin.

"I can assure you that I won't be seeing anyone's balls for a good while." Weiss says but then blushes at what she says and tries to hide herself by sinking into her seat.

"Just like chapter 20," Blake whispers.

**Jaune reaches off screen and pulls out a plate full of different doughnut balls of different sizes and variety and sets it on the table in front of Weiss and Blake.**

"**Wow, you have some beautiful balls." Blake says eyeing the plate full of doughnut balls.**

"**They're bigger than I expected." Weiss says.**

"**I know; a lot of people tell me that." Jaune says.**

"Do they now, Jaune?" Emilia says to her son who smiles shyly at his mother who gives him a glare.

"They tell me the same thing, kid." Qrow says to which Raven rolls her eyes.

"**Look at that Terry, the way they glisten." Weiss says pointing to the doughnut balls on the plate.**

"**That's because I make sure each one of my balls gets plenty of oil." Jaune says.**

"**I can't help but notice, Pete. Your balls are a little misshapen." Weiss points out.**

"**That's because I rested them on a hot stove for too long." Jaune states.**

All of the men in the room cross their legs at the thought of resting their balls on a hot stove. Emilia, Kali and Summer think that maybe they should threaten their husbands with that the next time they do something stupid.

Everyone else is laughing at the word play on screen. Even Sienna, Ilia and Raven are smirking at the screen and the clever use of word.

"**Can I touch your balls?" Blake asks Jaune.**

Yang and Tai clutch their sides in laughter while Blake's blush matches Ruby's cape at the various innuendoes being said.

'_It's just a skit, it's just a skit.' _Ghira repeated the phrase in his head.

"**Go ahead but be careful. They're very delicate." Jaune tells Weiss and Blake. Weiss reaches for the plate of doughnut balls and sets the plate between her and Blake.**

"**Wow, I can't wait to get my mouth around this ball." Weiss says reaching for one of the doughnut balls.**

"**Ooh, I like the way your balls smell." Blake says as she grabs a doughnut ball and takes a bite as does Weiss and they savor the flavor of the doughnut.**

"Those balls do look tasty." Ruby says and blushes immediately the words left her mouth. Even though she is referring to the pasty treats on screen, her mind goes to the other type of balls and thanks to Blake's books and the graphic novels she owns.

"Feeling thirsty?" Yang nudges her sister who hides within her hood to cover her blush. Summer laughs at her daughter's expression and she knows that she needs to have a talk with them.

Blake pulls out a black journal and writes something in it before putting it away and looking back at the screen.

"**Do whatever you want to them, ladies. My balls are here for your pleasure." Jaune tells them.**

"**Wow, Pete. I have to say your balls are so tender." Weiss says after swallowing and taking another bite.**

"**Well, there's no beating my balls." Jaune says looking to them then back to the camera. "They're made from a secret Schweddy family recipe. No one can resist my Schweddy balls."**

Everyone who is drinking spits out their drinks at the last part. Tai and Qrow and laughing, even Raven and Sienna chuckle at the clever name and use of word play.

"Schweddy balls!" Yang yells out while laughing and holding her sides. "That's too good."

"I did not see that coming." Sun says while laughing.

"Whoever wrote this needs to be given a medal." Neptune says.

"What is funny about your Schweddy balls, friend Jaune?" Penny asks confused as to why people are laughing. Ruby leans in a whispers in Penny's ears and her eyes widen. "I see…" Penny isn't sure why her face suddenly feels warm, translation she is blushing.

"**Schweddy balls," Weiss says in between bites. "Nothing like a Schweddy ball."**

"**Schweddy balls…" Blake says before grabbing another doughnut ball form the tray.**

"**Good times."**

"**Good times, oh." Blake looks up and holds up a finger. "Our producer, Sun is gesturing to us from the technician booth. And it looks like he's telling us to wrap it up." She says while lowering her hand.**

"**I guess that's all the time we have today, Terry." Weiss says to Blake. "So join us next week, when our topic will be that other holiday favorite. Fragrant Salty Nuts." Weiss and Blake say at the same time.**

"**A quick plus, if you order from Seasons Eating now." Jaune says before reaching for something under the table and pulls out a colorful bag and sets it on the table. "You can still send out a special Schweddy ball sack in time for Christmas." He says while reaching into the bag and pulling out a large sack of doughnut balls.**

"**Oh, great idea. My sister would love a sack of Schweddy balls." Weiss says with a smile and Blake smiles at the screen before it fades the black.**

"What did you think?" Spart asks the audience from his sport above the audience.

"That was great." Nora says still laughing at the use of word play. "Schweddy balls."

"Maybe we should get a sack of Schweddy balls for Weiss." Yang says to Blake who nods knowing that Weiss is listening.

"Excuse me?" Weiss asks crossing her arms. "Just what are implying?"

"You need to cut loose once in a while and having some Schweddy balls might just do the trick." Yang said with a smirk at how Weiss didn't responded but stuttered and blushed.

Winter and Willow smiled at Weiss' friends and how they didn't treat her like an heiress of the SDC but like an ordinary girl. Something that they are thankful for, Weiss now has an opportunity to act like a girl her age and not have to worry about her father.

"Can we please stop saying balls." Winter says.

"You need to lighten up, ice queen. It good to kick back and relax once in a while." Qrow tells her before taking a sip of scotch. "Helps take our minds off of our work and having some Schweddy balls might just be the thing for you to relax."

"He's right, Winter." Ironwood says getting her attention and judging by her expression, she is surprised by the fact that James Ironwood, General of the Atlas military and headmaster of Atlas Academy just agreed with Qrow Branwen. It's public knowledge that Winter and Qrow do not along.

"We all need to take a break and have some time to ourselves." Ironwood continues, "that's why I always take two weeks off from being a General and a Headmaster to catch up on some reading."

"Never thought you had a life outside the military, Jimmy." Qrow says.

"We all have our vices, Qrow." Ironwood retorts referring to Qrow's drinking.

"I may enjoy drinking but I don't let it affect my work. Besides no one pays attention to a drunk."

"so what's going to be shown next?" Ren asked Spart just as the screen came to life once again.

"A Sci-Fi adventure featuring Jaune and his crew of misfits as they go around the galaxy." Spart tells them.

"I love Sci-Fi." Summer says and Tai smiles remembering how Summer is quite the Sci-Fi nerd and would always drag STRQ to the latest sci-fi movie.

"Like the previous universe. Dust, aura and hunters don't exist and there is a war between two factions." Spart informs them getting their attention. "Atlas controls the majority of the planets in the galaxy and a group of planets didn't like that. So they sought to break away from Atlas, they soon became known as the Independents or Brown Coats as they always wore brown. The Independents sought their freedom from Atlas and many Faunus flocked to their side having grown sick of Atlas and soon the Unification War began.

"So it's like the Faunus Rebellions." Blake said sounding sad at history repeating itself but on a much larger scale. Her bow lowering.

"Indeed." Ozpin said having seen wars break out during his many lives across time.

"Which side do I fight for?" Jaune asked.

"You fight for the Independents." Spart tells him making him smile.

"Always fighting for everyone, son." Leon smiles at his soon and soon the screen comes to life getting their attention.

**The sounds of gunfire and explosions can be heard as Independent soldiers engage Atlas soldiers in Serenity Valley. An Atlas gunship is flying overhead and providing air support for the Atlas troops on the ground and they are slowly pushing back the Independents. A squadron of Brown Coats are on hill overlooking the valley and they picking off Atlas soldiers when the Atlas gunship flies towards them and opens fire killing the squad. **

**In another part of the Valley Jaune is running and fires his weapon at an Atlas truck that is currently heading towards him before running off the road. Jaune is wearing a combat vest and attire suited for desert climate and he is wearing a long brown trench coat. Running and taking cover to catch his breath, Jaune resumes his trek back to the mobile base that they set up.**

"The battle seems to be going poorly for the Independents." James states after seeing how Atlas is pushing forward and he feel's pride that Atlas is doing so but at the same time sad to see countrymen fighting each other.

"Indeed." Winter adds from her spot next to James.

"Such unwanted death and destruction." Oobleck says solemnly and the students agree as do the teachers

**Entering the mobile base Jaune sets his weapon down and goes to get another when other soldiers come up to him. **

"**Sergeant, Command says air support is holding till they can assess our status." One of the soldiers tells Jaune as Sienna Khan enters the base looking tired and joins Jaune.**

Sienna looks at her on screen self, surprised that she even makes an appearance in one of these universes. _'Glad to see that I'm fighting for the Independents and not Atlas.' _She thinks to herself while everyone stares at the screen in shock to see Sienna Khan, High Leader of the White Fang fighting alongside humans.

"**Our status is we need some **_**gorram **_**air support." Jaune tells the soldier. "Now get back online and tell them to get in here."**

"**That skiff is shredding us, sir." Sienna tells Jaune.**

"**They won't move without a lieutenant's authorization code, sir."**

**Jaune goes to the body of a fallen lieutenant and rips off his patch to reveal codes on the back before going back to the group. "Here. Here's your code. You're Lieutenant Baker." He says handing over the patch to the soldier with the radio. "Congratulations on your promotion. Now get me some air support!"**

"That's one way to hide codes." James said having seen other ways of hiding codes, one such method was hiding the codes in a vending machine.

"I hope they get some support." Ruby says gripping her armrest worried for her crush's wellbeing.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Ruby." Blake tells her teammate before focusing back on the screen.

"**Pull back just far enough to wedge 'em in here." He tells the rest of the soldiers before turning to Sienna. "Get your squad to high ground—start pickin' 'em off."**

**Sienna shakes her head. "High ground is death with that skiff in the air."**

"**That's our problem. Thanks for volunteering. Bendis." Jaune says to the soldier to his right getting his attention. "Give us some cover fire. We're going duck huntin'." He tells Bendis before an explosion goes off near the base and debris land on them along with the body of soldier. Everyone looks at the body of Faunus.**

"**Just focus!" Jaune shouts getting their attention off of the body and on him. "Atlas said they were gonna waltz through Serenity Valley. And we chocked 'em with those words." He tells the soldiers to inspire them.**

"**We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty." Jaune says looking to each of the soldiers. "Just a little while longer. And our angels are gonna be soaring overhead, raining fire on those arrogant Kangs. So you hold. You hold! Go!" The soldiers return to their posts while Jaune gets a new weapon to replace his old one.**

"As far as speeches go. That is one of the best." Tai spoke remembering some of the speeches that Summer and Raven gave.

Summer hit him in the arm playfully. "I'll have you know that my speeches are inspirational." She told her husband while pouting. Tai pulls Summer in and gives her a one arm hug which brings a smile to her.

"It's not the worst speech." Weiss spoke crossing her arms having heard worse. Plus, she wouldn't admit it that it did inspire her a little.

Nora leans over to Jaune. "You are good at inspiring people. Jaune – Jaune." Jaune smiles in response and freezes when Nora pulls his arm in between her breasts and lays her head on his shoulder.

Ren sees this and smiles slightly knowing that Nora is trying to get Jaune's attention and given how dense he is; she is going to have be obvious in her feelings. Pyrrha grabs her armrest hard that the wood splinters when she sees Nora's advances.

"**Really think we can bring her down, sir?" Sienna asks kneeling against the sandbags.**

"**You even need to ask?" Jaune says before pulling out a necklace of the Brother's symbol and kisses it for good luck and puts it back underneath his vest. "Ready?"**

"**Always." Sienna says as Jaune exits the base and waits for covering fire to help him. "Bendis." She calls out to Bendis who just sits against the sandbags not moving. "Bendis!" She shouts hoping to get him out of his head, but he still doesn't move. Cursing to herself she moves to one of the Sandbags and stands up firing her weapon providing cover fire for Jaune.**

**Jaune exits the base and heads to a nearby AA placement, looking to his left he sees an Atlas soldier quickly firing his weapon he kills the soldier before continuing to the AA gun. Taking cover behind a pile of rocks and is joined by Sienna. Explosions and gunfire continue in the background, Jaune peeks over the rocks and sees the AA gun.**

**Being cautious he aims his rifle at the AA emplacement and looks through the scope to see an Atlas soldier guarding the gun. Firing a shot to draw out the soldier and fires another shot killing the soldier. With the way clear Jaune and Blake head toward the AA gun, Sienna takes a defensive position to protect Jaune as he goes for the AA gun.**

**Jaune grabs the trigger to the AA gun as the HUD comes online for the AA gun and Jaune aims for the Atlas gunship. Pulling the trigger Jaune fires in short bursts and manages to hit the gunship as the side of the gunship explodes and is losing altitude.**

"Yeah!" Yang shouts jumping out of the seat with her fist raised in the air. Ruby chuckles at her sister before she sits back down. Summer smile at her stepdaughter and Raven looks away which Qrow sees and scowls at his sister.

"**Yeah! Huh!" Jaune shouts with joy as the gunship loses a wing and bursts into flames and is flying towards them. Jaune sees this and starts running towards Sienna. "Sienna!" He shouts getting her attention as she looks and sees the gunship closing in on them and crashes. Jaune tackles Sienna to the ground as the wreckage flies into AA gun destroying it. **

**Jaune and Sienna look at the flaming wreckage before Jaune starts laughing while Sienna just sighs with relief before they both get back on their feet and head back to the base.**

"**Nice cover fire." Sienna sarcastically tells Bendis who still hasn't moved from his spot as she and Jaune enter the base.**

"**Did you see that? Green, what's our status on—" Jaune asks the radio operator but stops when he sees Green dead with a bullet wound to his head. "Sienna." Jaune gestures to the radio next to the body before going to check on Bendis while Sienna goes to the radio to get and update.**

"This is going poorly for the Independents." James once again states.

"We'll just have to see what happens next." Port tells the group.

"**Hey, listen to me." Jaune tells Bendis kneeling next to him. "Bendis, look at me." Jaune grabs Bendis' jacket getting his attention, he notices that Bendis has a far look in his eyes. "Listen. We're holding this valley, no matter what."**

"**We're gonna die." Bendis says sounding dejected.**

"**We're not gonna die." Jaune tells Bendis. "We can't die, Bendis. And you know why? Because we are so very pretty." He says with a smirk and Bendis looks at him like he's lost his mind.**

"**We are just too pretty for the Gods to let us die." Jaune still has smirk on his face knowing that humor is good for defusing certain situations and Jaune is known for one thing, and that is his always positive outlook no matter the situation. "Huh, look at the chiseled jaw, huh?" Jaune grabs Bendis' jaw and let's go. "Come on." **

"Really?" Qrow said with a raised eyebrow.

"I can believe it." Tai said agreeing with onscreen Jaune. "I'm too pretty to die also." He said with a smile that quickly disappeared when Summer elbowed him in the ribs. Yang and Ruby laughed while their father nursed his ribs and Summer looked innocent.

"Humor is also good for deescalating stressful situations." Winter said taking a sip of her tea. "It's also good for throwing off your opponents."

"I have to try that sometimes." Yang says and her team frown at that. They wouldn't wish her puns on their worst enemy, well maybe Torchwick.

**Bendis shakes his head and looks down before the sounds of aircrafts approaching gets Jaune's attention as he looks up to the night sky. "Well, if you won't listen to me, listen to that." He tells Bendis. "Those are our angels. They're gonna blow Atlas to the hot place."**

"**Sienna, tell the 82****nd**** to—" **

"**They're not coming." Seinna says holding the radio to her ear. Jaune loses his smile at what Sienna says. "Command says it's too hot. They're pulling out." She tells Jaune looking over to him. "We're to lay down arms."**

"What?!" Yang shouts at the screen. "They're just going to abandon them!"

"The Independents are cutting their losses." James said with a heavy sigh looking away from the screen having been through something similar early in his career.

"But they could help them."

"If we keep watching. I'm sure we'll see why they are pulling out." Blake tells her teammate.

**Jaune looks to Bendis who is on verge of crying. "But what's—" the sound of the aircrafts approaching grows louder and closer. Rising to his feet Jaune, Sienna and Bendis look over the sandbags to see Atlas bombers hovering over the valley, a bullet hits Bendis killing him but Jaune doesn't pay attention as he is to focused on the Atlas bombers, a violin plays a somber song as the bombers open fire on the valley and more ships appear on the horizon. Soon the entire valley is engulfed in flames.**

"Guess now we know why they pulled out." Ruby said slouching in her seat.

"Think they had enough ships there." Coco asked leaning on her arm for support.

"I believe that Atlas wanted to deal a crushing blow to the Independents morale." Weiss said crossing her legs. "Morale is important to anyone fighting."

"Very true, Miss Schnee." Ozpin told her. "Strong morale, makes a stronger fighter."

**SIX YEARS LATER**

**Jaune is wearing a space suit as he floats among the wreckage of ship. "The vault's sealed." He tells Sienna who is also wearing a suit although her helmet has been modified to accommodate her feline ears. Jaune is floating upside down in front of a door.**

"**Okay, I'm gonna boil it. Cardin, give me the sticky."**

**Cardin is wearing a different suit than Jaune, his is yellow themed and his helmet is larger with a wider visor. Cardin slowly pushes himself off some debris so he floats towards Jaune, the many stars of the galaxy behind them. Once within reach Cardin hands Jaune a gun that has a cylinder on top of it, pressing the trigger a clear substance flows out of the tip. Jaune makes a circle around the lock that seals the vault. **

"What's Jaune doing?" Blake asks tilting her head.

"Probably salvage." Emilia says. "Not a lot a jobs are available to vets like him."

"That's got to be scary." Susie said looking at the space suits. "Just a piece of glass and fabric keeping you alive."

"Now that you mention it. That is scary." Aqua agrees with her twin.

"Those suits could be improved." Coco said lowering her sunglasses to reveal her dark brown eyes. "Maybe make them in a different color."

"I think they would prefer functionality over appearance, Coco." Velvet told her friend.

Coco gasped louder than necessary. "Clothes can be both functional and good looking. You wound me, bun-bun."

Velvet ignored her a lesson she learned early on when dealing with Coco and focused back on the screen. "I'm surprised to see Cardin following Jaune."

"Stranger things have happened." Jaune said pointing to Spart drinking a soda with a straw which didn't make sense since he's a machine.

**Once done Jaune places a cylindrical device next to the clear substance before backing away. Soon the clear substance begins to glow red as it melts through the metal. **

"**Okay, we get the goods. We're off this wreck and back on the ship. No worries" Jaune tells his teammates through the suits comms. The camera zooms out from the trio and upwards through the wreckage and finally stopping upon a ship that is anchored to the wreckage. Inside the cockpit Taiyang Xio Long, the pilot is monitoring the situation.**

"Dad?" Yang and Ruby say looking at the screen then to their father. Tai smiled at his daughters and gave them a thumbs up.

"Looks like your part of Jaune's crew." Summer told her husband.

"**Everything looks good from here." Tai says through the comms as he continues to play with toy dinosaurs. "Yes. Yes, this is fertile land, and we will thrive." Tai makes one of the dinosaurs talk.**

"**We will rule over all this land, and we will call it… This Land."**

"**I think we should call it your grave." Tai says with a gravelly voice as he makes the two dinosaurs face each other.**

"**Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal."**

"**Mine is an evil laugh." Tai cackles as he acts out the scene in his mind. "Now die!" Tai makes the two toys fight each other.**

"**Oh, no, gods." Tai says in his normal voice. "Oh, dear Gods in heaven." **

**A beeping from a nearby panel grabs his attention, clearing the panel of toys Tai looks at the screen to see a blip closing in fast. "Oh, motherless son of bi—"**

"Didn't Tai do the same thing?" Qrow said thinking back to his time in Beacon.

Summer ponders before holding up her finger. "That's right. It happened when we came back from the movies to see Tai playing his toy robots."

Ruby and Yang laugh at their father while Tai looks at his wife for betraying his secret.

"I wonder what that beeping means." Ren said drinking his herbal tea.

**Back with Jaune and the others the substance fully melts through the metal and the vault lock blows outward pass the group.**

"**Full pressure. The goods must be intact." Sienna says while Jaune and Cardin open the vault and shine their light in to see three black cases.**

"**Okay. Lookin' good." Jaune says after seeing the cases before Tai's voice comes over the comms.**

"_**Captain, we got incoming Atlas cruiser bearing right down on us."**_

**Jaune swears in another language. "Have they spotted us?" He asks.**

"That's the Faunus language." Blake said surprised at hearing it.

"The Faunus language?" Yang asks looking to Blake.

"It's the unofficial language of the Faunus." Ghira explained to everyone in the theater. "It's very common to hear it in Menagerie."

"It's also not spoken widely on the main lands." Emilia added. "You'll hear it occasionally but not very often as in Menagerie."

"I must have taught him the language." Sienna said placing an arm on the armrest.

"_**I can't tell if—"**_

"**Have they hailed us?" Jaune asks.**

"**If they're here for the salvage, we're humped." Cardin says looking to Jaune.**

"**They find us at all, we're humped. Thievin' ain't—" Sienna said in the background.**

"They're thieves…" Ruby whispered sad that her friend is a thief.

"I'm sure they're doing what they can to survive." Pyrrha told Ruby and ignored the pointed look from Weiss as everyone knew that she is stickler for the rules and laws. Although her past exploits with RWBY have her breaking Beacon's rules and Vale's law.

"**I don't like this."**

"**Tai, shut it down. Now." Jaune orders. "Everything but the air." **

**Back in the ship Tai is shutting down systems before activating the intercom. "Ruby. Go to blackout. We're being buzzed." **

**In another part of the ship Ruby is running towards the engine room and pressing the intercom inside the engine room. She speaks in the same language as Jaune before switching back to English. "Goin' dark." She says before shutting systems and climbing up on a console and turning off the power to the engine room which also kills the light.**

"**Okay, now I can't get down." Ruby says in the darkness.**

"I have screen time!" Ruby shouted with glee at seeing her herself in this universe.

"It looks like you're the mechanic of the ship." Weiss said uncrossing her legs and ordering a cup of tea.

"Instead of a weapons nut, you're now a mechanic nut." Yang told her sister rubbing the top of her head.

"Yang!" Ruby cried trying to pry her hands off of her head and gave up when Yang continued.

**ATLAS CRUISER**

**Meanwhile the Atlas cruiser is approaching the wreckage. The size of the cruiser is roughly the size of a small city and from a distance could be mistaken for one as five large towers emerge from main body of the ship. Two of the towers double as the engines and each tower is capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of personal and one the underside of the cruiser is many fighters and gunships for defense. Along with the fighter and gunships the Tohoku class cruiser boasts an incredible array of turrets for protection. **

"My gods." Glynda said upon seeing the size of the cruiser. A small city indeed.

"No wonder they won the war." Port said impressed at the size of the Atlas cruiser. "Atlas must be a powerhouse if they have ships like that in their fleets."

"Indeed." Oobeck agreed sipping his coffee.

"We could just blow up Salem if we had that." Qrow said ordering another drink.

"I think Salem would do everything in her power to obtain such a weapon." Ozpin said looking at cruiser then to James. "I imagine that such a ship would be your personal ship?"

"You know me to well." James told Ozpin with a smirk.

"**So, what am I looking at?" The Captain of the cruiser asked one of the personal on the bridge as he looks at the wreckage through the window.**

"**It's a carrier. Blew out a few months back. Lost all hands, but it was only run by a skeleton crew anyway."**

"**Damn shame. No point in checking for survivors?" The Captain asks.**

**WRECKAGE**

**Back at the wreckage Jaune and the rest of his crew are waiting. "Tai, they slowing down?" he asks Tai who is watching the screen.**

"**That's a neg." Tai says over the radio looking away from the screen and out the window to see the cruiser. "Doesn't look like they're interested in us. We should be eating wake in a minute or two."**

**Jaune looks through the opening in the wreckage to see the Atlas cruiser passing by them. Jaune doesn't show any emotion at the sight of the passing cruiser.**

**ATLAS CRUISER **

**In the control room of the cruiser one of the technicians notices something on his screen. "Sir, there is a reading on that thing." He says as the Captain goes over to his station. "Some residual heat."**

"**Do a sweep."**

"Oh no." Ruby said playing with the edges of her skirt nervously.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Blake told Ruby also nervous for her friend.

**WRECKAGE **

**Back in the cockpit Tai hears a rapid beeping. "Captain, we're humped." He says over the radio.**

"**Prep the ship now. We move these in double time." Jaune tells Sienna and Cardin as they set to retrieving the cases from the vault.**

"**Ruby, fire it up." Tai says over the intercom as he begins to prep the ship for immediate take off.**

"I guess the jig is up." Sun said drinking a banana malt which Neptune rolled his eyes at. For a guy not wanting to be seen as a stereotype for Faunus, Sun sure does loves bananas. Then again so is Blake with fish.

**ATLAS CRUISER**

"**It's a transport ship. Firefly class." The technician says.**

"**They still make those?" **

"**Illegal salvage." The Captain says with a sigh. "Low-life vultures picking the flesh off the dead."**

"**Should we deploy gunships and bring her in?" One of the personal asks.**

"**Do it." The Captain says.**

**Underneath the cruiser multiple gunships are preparing to launch and head for the wreckage.**

**WRECKAGE **

**Jaune is carrying a case as he floats back to his ship. "Cry, baby, cry." He says over the radio.**

"**Make your mother sigh." Tai responds entering some commands into a keypad. "Engaging the crybaby."**

**On the other side of the nearby moon is a makeshift beacon with the word CRYBABY painted on it, on the side a red light turns green.**

**ATLAS CRUISER **

"**Captain, I am picking up a distress signal 13 clicks ahead from a—sounds like a personal carrier." One of bridge personal says.**

"**Definitely a big ship, sir. And she's without power."**

**The Captain sighs as he faces a dilemma, he could continue the deployment of the gunships and bring in the criminals or he could ignore them and help out the carrier.**

Qrow began laughing. "Oh man, they'll be in for a surprise when they see the ship in distress."

"Clever and underhanded tactics." James said.

"Mr. Arc and his crew are outlaws." Glynda said getting James' attention. "They'll use underhanded means to survive."

"Still clever to use a fake distress call to draw attention away from them." Port said impressed at the thinking behind the "Crybaby".

**WRECKAGE **

**Jaune, Sienna and Cardin make it back to their ship and enter through the open cargo hold, once back inside the cargo doors close as Jaune goes to the control panel on the wall and presses a switch. The lights come on and oxygen is poured back into the hold and gravity is reengaged making the floating cases fall to the ground with a loud thud.**

"**Tai, we're on. Go." Jaune says over the intercom.**

**Outside the wreckage the landing clamps are disengaged allowing the ship to float away from the wreckage before the engines come to life. Jaune's ship is a Firefly class ship that is known for the end of the ship to light up giving the illusion of a firefly in space. The engine of the ship glows a bright yellow.**

"**Hang on, travelers." Tai says as pilots the ship.**

"**Let's moon 'em." Cardin says holding his helmet in his hands and a smile on his face.**

**The Firefly ship quickly flies through space as the afterburners are engaged and the yellow glow in the rear of the ship dissipate as the excess energy is released giving the ship a boost.**

"Looks like they've turned _cheek _and ran." Yang said as Tai gave her a thumbs up. Everyone else just silently groaned.

**ATLAS CRUISER**

"**They're rabbiting, sir. Should we continue deployment?" **

"**Our gunships would never get back to us in time. All right. Let's go help these people." The Captain says as he orders the ship to head for the emergency beacon.**

"**But put out a bulletin on the cortex and flag Interpol." The Captain orders before heading to check on something else on the bridge. "A Firefly with possible stolen good on board. Maybe somebody'll step on those roaches."**

"I can only imagine how pissed they are going to be when they find out they're been played." "Qrow said drinking his whiskey. Raven took note of the tactic so she can put to use when she enters the new world line.

"Once again clever thinking Mr. Arc." Ozpin told Jaune raising his glass to him. Jaune shrugged and felt weird that everyone is praising him for actions that his other self is doing or planning.

**JAUNE'S SHIP **

**Back inside the ship the inner cargo doors open and Jaune enters removing his suits gloves and helmet. **

"**We look shiny, Captain. They are not—repeat—not coming about." Tai announces over the intercom.**

"**Close one." Sienna says following Jaune.**

"**Yeah."**

"**Any one you walk away from, right." Cardin says getting their attention as they look back and see Cardin carrying a case inside the cargo hold. "As long as we got the goods, I call this a win." He says before carrying the other cases inside.**

"**Right." Jaune says heading further into the cargo hold. "We win." He says before sighing and heads to the changing station to change out of his suit and back into his regular clothes. **

"He's still sour about losing the war." James said noticing the way he spoke and having seen the same thing in different vets of the Faunus Rebellions.

"At least he doesn't let it affect his emotions." Leon said holding his wife's hand.

"We haven't seen enough to know yet." Emilia said before ordering a glass of wine which she shared with Leon.

**Once back in his regular clothes which consists of a maroon shirt with the sleeves rolled up and tan pants with a black line going down the leg on the outside and brown suspenders, his pants are tucked into dark brown leather knee high boots. His blonde hair is cut short giving him a mature and roguish appearance. Jaune goes to the intercom and calls for everyone to meet in the cargo hold. Once everyone is in the cargo hold and Sienna and Cardin are changed, Jaune and Cardin go to open one of the cases.**

"I approve of the outfit." Coco said lowering her sunglasses and eyeing onscreen Jaune's outfit with appreciation.

"It pays homage to his time in the military." Winter said looking to her own outfit which is a cross between a dress uniform and a teacher's outfit. She had her outfit custom made by a well-clothing company that is known for making hunter and huntress gear as well as civilian clothing. It cost her four months of pay just to pay for the outfit and it was well worth the price. It provided superb protection and is fashionable.

"It does suit him." Pyrrha said eyeing the older Jaune with a blush.

"**Well, there we are." Jaune says after they open the case to revel copper bricks packed neatly in rows.**

"**They're awfully pretty." Ruby says looking at the copper bricks.**

"**I'd say worth the little risk." Tai says standing next to Sienna as Jaune runs his hand over the bricks and picks one up to examine it.**

"Copper must be valuable in the future if they are worth risking the ire of the law." Weiss said uncrossing her legs.

"Could be their equivalent to Dust." Blake said ordering a tuna sandwich and drooling slightly at the sight of the tuna.

"**Yeah, that was some pretty risky sittin' you did there." Cardin says looking to Tai.**

"**That's right. Of course. 'Cause they wouldn't arrest me if we got boarded." Tai says getting everyone's attention as they look at him. "I'm just the pilot. I can always say that I was flying the ship by accident. They're pretty—"**

**Tai is cut off by Jaune who puts a halt to the conversation as he notices that the copper bricks have the Atlas insignia stamped on the bottom.**

"That could prove troublesome for them." Glynda said seeing the Atlas insignia on the back of the copper brick.

"Indeed." Ozpin agreed getting a refill on his coffee.

"**Problem, sir?" Sienna asks as Jaune sets the copper brick back where he took it.**

"**Couldn't say." Jaune says with sigh. "But we best be gettin' rid of these before we run into another Atlas patrol." Grabbing the lid, he sets it back in place before standing up.**

"**What the hell they doin' out this far anyhow?" Cardin asks as he makes sure that the lid is secure before grabbing one end.**

"**Shining the light of civilization." Ruby says as she grabs the other and helps Cardin lift the case while Jaune, Tai and Sienna walk off to the side.**

"**How long till we reach Persephone?" Jaune asks Tai who turns to face him.**

"**Three or four hours."**

"**Can we shave that?" Jaune asks leaning on the stair rail.**

"**We're down to the wire on fuel cells." Tai says leaning on the wall. "We run hot, we might not even make it."**

"**Play it as close as you can. This catch is burning a hole in my hull."**

"**Think that cruiser might have I.D.'d us" Sienna asks Jaune as feline ears perk up.**

"**Let's hope not." Jaune replies after sighing. "Contact Roman. Tell him the job's done." He tells Sienna who nods and heads to the bridge.**

"They're working for Roman Torchwick!" Ruby yelled jumping out of her seat.

"They could be working for someone else named Roman." Yang told her younger sister knowing about her feud with the infamous criminal. This seemed to relax Ruby as she nodded and sat back down. Tai looked at his youngest daughter concerned that she is already getting involved with crime, granted Hunters assist the police when they can. Summer held his hand and gave him a knowing smile and mouthed _"remember Qrow's birthday"_.

Tai shut his mouth and focused back on the screen so Summer won't bring up that fateful night that involved strippers, gang members, blowup doll, turf war, ball gags and photos that are saved on Glynda's scroll.

"**Don't go mentioning the cruiser though. Keep it simple." **

"**Sir, we're sure there's nothing wrong with the ca—"**

"**It's fine." Jaune says looking to the three large cases then back to her. "Just want to get paid."**

**Tai and Sienna head up the stairs to the bridge while Jaune goes to help Cardin and Ruby. "All right. Let's get these crates stowed. I don't want any tourists stumblin' over 'em." He says as he passes Cardin and Ruby and heads to a wall.**

"**We're taking on passengers at Persephone?" Ruby asks setting the case down.**

"**That's the notion. Could use a little respectability on the way to Boros." Jaune says as he kneels and pushes against a panel to reveal a secret compartment. "Not to mention the money."**

"**Pain in the ass." Cardin adds his opinion.**

"**No, it's shiny. I like to meet new people." Ruby says cheerfully. "They've all got stories.**

"**Captain, can you stop her form bein' cheerful, please?" Cardin asks picking up one end of the case while Jaune grabs the other and they set the case inside the hidden compartment.**

"**I don't believe there's a power in the 'verse can stop Ruby from bein' cheerful." Jaune says. "Sometimes you just want to duct tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month." Ruby comes up to Jaune and kisses his cheek.**

"**I love my Captain." Ruby says with a smile before heading back to the engine room, Jaune smiles as he and Cardin put the rest of the cases into the hidden compartment.**

"Like mother like daughter." Tai said remembering how Summer befriended Raven by using her natural cuteness to her advantage. It was amazing how quickly the two became close friends.

"It's also true that nothing can stop Ruby from being cheerful." Yang said bring Ruby close in a one arm hug. "They may bring her mood down but they can't stop her from being cheerful." The rest of RWBY agreed with the statement. Summer smiled at her daughter's friends and team reminding her of her own team before they were torn apart by her death and Raven leaving Tai and Yang behind to resume her old life.

**Meanwhile Sienna and Tai are heading toward the bridge. **

"**I know somethin' ain't right." Sienna says turning a corner with Tai right behind her.**

"**Sweetie, we're crooks. If everything were right, we'd be in jail." Tai tells her.**

"**It's just that the Captain's so tense." Sienna says walking past the crew quarters.**

"**The man need a break." Tai says walking next to Sienna. "In fact, we could all use a couple days' leave." He says placing a hand on Sienna's back getting her to stop.**

"**We still gotta drop the goods." Sienna tells Tai before heading up to the stairs to the bridge.**

"**And when we do, we'll fly off to Boros, rich and prosperous." Tai says following her into the bridge. "Well, less poor—but with enough to find some sweet little getaway."**

"**Oh, wouldn't mind a real bath." Sienna says having grown tired of the ship's shower.**

"**And a meal that included some form of food." Tai says placing his hands on Sienna's hips. "Just a couple of days lying around. You with the bathing. Me with the watching you bathe."**

Sienna choked on her tea while Tai looked surprised at the obvious sign of the two being in a relationship. He didn't have anything against the Faunus in fact he even dated one before he attended Beacon, he thought he would be married to Raven or Summer but in this universe he isn't. _'Does that mean Ruby isn't my daughter?' _Tai thought to himself before shaking his head to chase away the thoughts. _'Even if she isn't my biological daughter. She is still my daughter."_

Looking over to Tai, Sienna nodded in appreciation. She could do worse than him and she had to admit the shaggy blonde hair and light beard made him look dashing. Ilia tracked Sienna's eyes and shook her head, she didn't like blondes. Ilia liked black hair, amber eyes and black cat ears that made you want to touch them.

"**Well, if the Captain says it's alright." Sienna tells him killing the romantic mood.**

"**What if we just told Jaune we need a couple of days 'stead of asking him?" Tai suggests as he lets go of Sienna and sits in the pilot's chair.**

"**He's the Captain, Tai."**

"**Right. I'm just the husband." Tai says turning in his chair to face her.**

"Always the lady man, _honey_." Summer told Tai feeling a note of jealousy spring up in her at the mention of Tai being with another woman. Tai sweat dropped when he recognized the hint of jealousy in her voice.

Winter heard Qrow mutter something about _"Blonde bastard getting all the hot ones" _and something involving hair dye.

"**Look, I'll ask him."**

"**Don't forget to call him "sir." He likes that." Tai says spinning in his chair to face the controls.**

"**Who likes what?" Jaune asks entering the bridge.**

"**It's nothing, sir." Sienna tells him sitting on the edge of the console before looking to Tai who just mouths **_**"good job" **_**and gives her the thumbs up.**

"**Has the ambassador checked in yet?" Jaune asks.**

"**Nah, I think she had a pretty full docket." Tai said before turning in his chair to face Jaune.**

"**Well, after you talk to Roman, let her know we may be leaving Persephone in a hurry."**

"**Pyrrha has our timetable. She should be checking in." Sienna tells Jaune.**

"Looks like you have screen time as well, Pyrrha." Ruby said looking behind her to the red haired Spartan.

"I wonder what my role is?" Pyrrha asked curious as to what her profession is in this universe.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Jaune told her.

"**I can tell her to cut it short, meet us at the docks." Tai offers.**

"**No, no. Don't want to get in her way if we don't have to." Jaune says before leaving the bridge and heading to his cabin. "Somebody on this boat has to make an honest living." He says as he heads down the stairs and goes to his cabin. Opening the door and climbing down the ladder to his room, Jaune sits down on his bed and sighs. Looking around his room his eyes land on a guitar that has been with him ever since he found it among the wreckage of a home. He taught himself how to play and it kept him company in the darkest of times.**

"Is that true?" Blake asked turning in her seat to face the blonde knight.

"Pretty much." Jaune said. "No one in my family plays. So I had to teach myself through trial and error. Over time I actually got pretty good."

"Better than good. He's a master when it comes to the guitar." One of Jaune's sisters said.

"How come I didn't hear it during your attempt to ask me to the dance." Weiss asked not believing that Jaune is a master at playing the guitar when she had seen Jaune playing the guitar like an amateur when he showed up outside their team dorm.

"Well, I was nervous at asking you to the dance and that affects my ability to play."

"Can you play for us?" Nora asked hopefully.

"Sure, I just need a guitar." Jaune replied much to the enjoyment of the girls.

'_**How long has it been since I played?' **_**He thinks to himself before getting off the bed and picking up the guitar from its spot in the corner of the room. Sitting back on the bed Jaune plays a few notes to get back in the rhythm, once comfortable Jaune takes a breath and begins to play a song that he made when he first bought his ship, **_**Serenity.**_

"_**Take my love, take my land.**_

_**Take me where I cannot stand**_

_**I don't care, I'm still free**_

_**You can't take the sky from me **_

_**Take me out to the black **_

_**Tell them I ain't coming back**_

_**Burn the land and boil the sea**_

_**You can't take the sky from me."**_

**Jaune voice carries though out the ship as everyone listen to him sing.**

"_**There's no place I can be**_

_**Since I've found serenity **_

_**But you can't take the sky from me."**_

**Jaune sings the final note and sets the guitar down next to him feeling better than before. **_**'Wonder how Pyrrha is doing?' **_

Everyone in the audience is stunned at the song that Jaune made and the tune that he played on the guitar gave the song a very blues/feel to the song.

"That was beautiful." Ruby whispered blushing at hearing Jaune's voice. _Jaune held Ruby from behind as he leaned in and whispered words of comfort and love into her ear which made her rubs her legs together at the sound of voice. She felt his hand lift up her skirt and moved closer to-. _Ruby shook her head clear of her fantasy as she tried her best to hide her blush. _'That's it. No more reading Blake's books behind Yang's back'. _

"Mr. Arc, I didn't know you sing." Glynda said surprised that Jaune could sing very well and play the guitar. "Did you have a teacher?"

"Yes, my father." Jaune told her getting everyone in the room to look at the Arc patriarch with surprise.

Leon just shrugged. "My mother gave me lessons when she discovered that I could sing. Although I only taught him the basics before she found out and took over his lessons."

"What fun lessons those turned out to be." Jaune grumbled remembering the strict vocal lessons that his grandma gave him.

**PERSEPHONE **

**In a room that has eastern décor, Pyrrha is panting as the man she is with kisses her neck and continues to move in and out her.**

Everyone in the audience blushed and looked away out of respect and embarrassment.

"Yang!" Ruby struggled to remove Yang's hands that immediately covered her eyes when they saw Pyrrha having sex. "I can't see."

"That's the point." Yang said continuing to cover Ruby's eyes from the screen. Meanwhile Summer is keeping Tai in place with an innocent smile that promised pain. Tai, Qrow, and Raven shivered at the smile, memories of going to the infirmary after mistaking that smile for leniency made even Raven respect her.

"It's actually pretty tame compared to others out there." Blake spoke looking back at the screen having read more intense scenes in her books "Ninjas of Love".

"So she's an escort?" Ilia asked leaning into her seat while Pyrrha blushed in embarrassment hiding her face behind her hands.

"**Oh, my god." Pyrrha pants as she holds the man close. "Oh." Soon the man stops having reached his end and rests as Pyrrha holds him close. **

"Another man who can't handle a beautiful woman." Glynda whispered disappointed looking to James from her corner of her eye. Ozpin sipped his coffee having heard Glynda and wisely chose to stay silent and not risk the ire of the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon.

**After having sex Pyrrha and the man are sitting and having tea. Pyrrha put on a robe and crossed her legs so that they show from underneath the robe while the man is just wearing his boxers. **

"**Sihnon isn't that different from this planet." Pyrrha says taking a sip of her tea. "More crowded, obviously, and I guess more complicated." She smiles as she tells the man who appears to be in his early twenties and his hanging on her every word. "The great city itself—pictures can't capture it. It's like an ocean of light."**

"**Is that where you studied… to be a Companion?" The young man asks as Pyrrha sets her tea cup down and places a hand on her bare leg which grabs his attention.**

"She's good." Kali said having used such tactics when she wanted to grab Ghira's attention after he broke up with Emilia.

"Indeed." Winter agreed.

"**I was born there." She tells him.**

"**I can't imagine ever leaving." The young man says looking away just in time as Pyrrha drops her smile and sighs to herself quietly before schooling her feature and smiling once again.**

"**Well, I wanted to see the universe." Pyrrha tells him before drinking her tea once again.**

"**Do you… really have to leave?" The young man asks looking at his tea. "I mean. I—My father is very influential." He tells her hoping that she will stay with him. "We could—I could arrange for you to be—" Pyrrha smiles sadly at the man having heard the same line before many times. The young man sighs in defeat at her silent answer and goes to get dressed while Pyrrha puts the tea cups onto a tray and picks it up just as the young man emerges from the bedroom fully dressed.**

"I guess she's a high class escort." Qrow said setting his glass down after Summer turned her smile on him for drinking too much.

"She's must be good. If she's heard that offer many times." Emilia said impressed at her skills and also worried that she'll cheat on her son.

"**The experience has been more than—it was very good." The young man tells Pyrrha in the entryway.**

"**Thank you." Pyrrha tells the young man with a smile while holding the tray carrying the tea set. "The time went too quickly."**

"**Well, your clock's probably rigged to speed up and cheat us out of our fun." The young man says bitterly. Pyrrha slowly loses her smile at the accusation before the young man leaves looking ashamed of what he just said. Pyrrha narrows her eyes once again having heard that before although very rarely, sighing to herself she sets the tray down and closes the door before going to a curtain and opens them to reveal pilot controls.**

**Seating in the pilot's chair she powers up the comms. "**_**Serenity, **_**this is shuttle One. What's your E.T.A.?" **

"_**Pyrrha, hey. We're touching down at the Eavesdown Docks… in about 10 minutes." **_**Tai says over the radio as Pyrrha nods thankful that they are close.**

"**I'll join you there. Thanks." She says as she begins powering up the shuttle.**

"_**Lookin' forward to it. We missed you out here."**_

"**Yeah. Me too." She says as the shuttle's engines come to life and she pilots the shuttle off the private landing pad and towards the mentioned docks. The shuttle is tear shaped with small wings emerging from the sides as it flies through the air.**

"Interesting design." James said looking at the design of the shuttle.

"The city is beautiful." Willow said looking at the city on screen. Sunlight reflected off the skyscrapers in the distance, various cars of futuristic design flew throughout the air and people walked on the streets below. Atlas banners could be seen and the latest SDC products are being advertised on the many screens.

"Even in the future the SDC is still prominent." Sienna said voice full of disdain at seeing the SDC logo.

'_Father would be ecstatic at the knowledge that the SDC is thriving well into the future.' _Weiss thought before shaking her head of the thought. She would continue to pursue her plan of taking over the SDC and steering the company onto a better path than her father.

**PERSEPHONE – EAVESDOWN DOCKS **

**The docks also doubled as a market/slums where humans and Faunus mingle, live and shop. It's also where crime lives and thrives though hidden from the public eyes.**_** Serenity **_**flies towards the docks, the ship has a sleek design and is small compared to the other transport ships on the market. The ship takes inspiration from the actual firefly insect for the design and layout. Two wings jut out from the center of ship and on each end is an engine that can rotate 360 degrees, towards the rear of the ship is the engine that has cone shape with the end getting narrow. The bridge of the ship is shaped to look like a dragon's head and the main body is where cargo hold and med bay is located. The neck of the bridge is where the crew cabins are.**

"So the Faunus live in the slums." Blake said saddened at the news that even in the future the Faunus are treated poorly. Her bow flattened on her head.

"I don't think that the case, Blake." Yang said. "They just said that the docks are a marketplace for the Faunus and humans. Plus, I saw Faunus walking among the populace and weren't getting harassed."

Blake perked up remembering the earlier scene that Yang mentioned and she did indeed see Faunus walking among the populace without getting harassed.

"We haven't seen any interactions between the Faunus and the rest of the populace." Ghira spoke crossing his arms. "Racism and bigotry could still be present in this universe."

_**Serenity **_**is painted on the bow of the ship and can be seen as it lands in a designated spot. The outer cargo door lowers creating a ramp as the crew of the ship exit. **

"**Put us down for departure in about three hours." Jaune tells Ruby as he checks his pistol. "Grab any supplies we're low on, fuel her up." He tells Tai who nods and heads back into the cargo hold.**

"**I'd sure love to find a brand-new compression coil for the steamer." Ruby says to Jaune while walking beside him before walking ahead of him to the screen panel that is in front of the ship.**

"**I'd like to be king of all Atlas and wear a shiny hat. Just get us some passengers." He tells Ruby putting his pistol in his leg holster before putting on his black leather gloves. "Them as can pay. All right?" After putting on his gloves Jaune adjusts the jackets lapel, his jacket is dark brown and goes to just below his knees.**

"I love the look." Coco said admiring the way on screen Jaune dressed. Velvet inhaled deeply to repress the surge of jealousy that emerged as Coco eyed Jaune. _'I respect you Coco, but eyes off.' _Velvet thought.

"It does suit him." Winter said looking to Ironwood and saw similarities to his own wardrobe. They both wear a long jacket that pays homage to their military service.

"Maybe I should update my clothes." Jaune mumbled after seeing himself wearing different clothes other than his trusted Pumpkin Pete limited edition hoody. Only a hundred of them were made and he's the proud owner of one.

"I can help with that." Coco said having heard Jaune and winked at him. Velvet clenched her teeth while Coco smirked though Velvet couldn't see it.

"**The compression coil busts, we're drifting." Ruby informs Jaune as she inputs the ship's information to the docking system.**

"**Best not bust then." Jaune tells Ruby before turning to see Sienna adjusting her leg holster and Cardin looking off into the distance. Like Jaune, Sienna is wearing tan pants with black knee high boots, a black shirt that is tucked into her pants and a brown leather vest. On her right leg is leg holster and she is wearing an olive jacket, her black hair is cut short to chin length and is in an offset bob cut, her tiger ears are on display for everyone to see.**

"I approve." Sienna said seeing herself on screen loving the simple look. Like Jaune, she figured it was time for a wardrobe change.

"**Sienna…" Tai says getting his wife's attention. He speaks in the official language of the Faunus. During the Unification War, the Independents used the Faunus language to hide their orders from Atlas but was abandoned when Faunus loyal to Atlas informed Atlas. Jaune is fluent in the language and decided to teach the rest of his crew the language which helped bring them closer.**

"Clever." Oobleck said ordering another cup of heavenly coffee. "Since the language isn't that widely known. It helps Jaune and his crew since everyone doesn't seem to know the language."

"Hmm." Sienna placed a hand under her chin. _'That could prove invaluable to the White Fang.' _She thought to herself unaware that Spart can hear her thoughts.

"**We will." Sienna tells Tai before going to catch up with Jaune and Cardin while Tai drives off using a ATV with a trailer attached to get their supplies.**

**Jaune, Sienna and Cardin walk down the streets of the dock to Roman's hideout to complete their deal. Meanwhile a portly man with a large mustache and wearing a black overcoat is walking through the streets looking at the various venders and ship, he is carrying bags behind him.**

"My, my… hello handsome." Port said admiring himself on screen.

"Oh no." Glynda groaned not wanting to hear another hour long story from the man. She respected Port as a colleague and a hunter, but he skills as a teacher are atrocious and his refusal to shut up. The students and everyone who knows the portly hunter agreed with Glynda.

"**Going on a trip, grandpa?" A man asks coming up behind him. The portly man looks behind him as the man moves to the front of him getting his attention. "You need safe passage? We're cheap. We're cheap, we're clean. The **_**Brutus**_**—" the man points to his ship as the portly man looks at the ship unimpressed.**

"**Best ship in the 'verse. What's your des, grandpa? Come on." The man finishes his pitch. "We're hittin' the outer rings."**

"**Uh, I never married." The portly man says as he continues walking and passes the man.**

"**What?" The man asks confused as the portly man continues walking away.**

"**I'm not a grandpa." The portly man says over his shoulder.**

"That is true." Port said. "I never married though I once had a lover who was part of a long forgotten clan in the forests of Mistral. She was the clan chief's daughter—"

"We should pay attention to the screen." Leon said pointing to the screen in an effort to stop Port from continuing. _'I hated those damn classes with him.' _Leon shivers remembering his time at Beacon and the many classes that he had to spend with Port.

**In a hidden area of the docks, Jaune and his group enter the hideout with armed guards, turning the corner and another to enter Roman's office. The well-dressed thief is currently inspecting a young woman. **

"They are working for Roman." Ruby says pointing to the screen to prove her point.

"We can see that." Weiss said looking to the screen. "What is he doing?"

"Examining the goods." Leon said having seen such things being done in trafficking rings.

"What?" Ruby asks confused looking to Leon.

"We'll tell you later, Ruby." Summer told her daughter before looking to Leon and shaking her head at him. He nods in understanding and focuses back on the screen.

"**Let me see your teeth." Roman tells the woman who shows him her teeth, "yes." Roman says after seeing that she has all of her teeth and gestures to the guard to take the woman away.**

"**You're late." Roman tells Jaune who is waiting outside the office.**

"**You're lying." Jaune retorts as he enters the office.**

"**What did you just say to me?" Roman asks from behind his desk.**

"**You're well aware we landed two hours before we planned to… with all the goods you sent us after intact, ready to roll." Jaune says putting his hands on his gun belt that holds his leg holster. "So your decision to get tetchy, say we're late… means you're lookin' to put us on the defensive right up front." Roman takes a seat in his leather chair and has a small smile. "Which means something's gone wrong." Jaune then looks to the rest of his crew. "It didn't go wrong on our end. So why don't we start again with you tellin' us what's up."**

"Very perceptive." James said in approval.

"Probably from his time in the military." Winter said also impressed.

"**You're later than I'd like." Roman responds.**

"**Well, I'm sorry to hear that."**

"**You'd gotten here sooner…" Roman says reaching over his desk and grabs a flyer and holds it up for Jaune to see. "You might've beaten the bulletin that came up sayin'… "Rogue vessel, classification Firefly… was spotted pullin' illegal salvage on a derelict transport."" He says as he puts the flyer down and leans back into his seat.**

"**Didn't I.D. us. Doesn't lead to you." Jaune tells Roman who pulls out a cigar from a box on his desk.**

"**No, it doesn't." Roman says putting the cigar in his mouth and lighting the end, puffing out smoke with every breath. "But a government stamp on every molecule of the cargo just maybe might." He tells Jaune and Sienna sighs and looks down before looking to Jaune who looks down slightly.**

"Busted." Sun said relaxing in his chair.

"Why didn't he tell he crew about that." Ruby asked confused by his actions.

"Probably to spare them the worry." Jaune said. "If they're worried then they won't perform well and that could lead to problems down the road.

"Indeed." Glynda said slightly proud that Jaune caught onto that.

"Still he should've told them." Yang said not at all happy with Jaune.

Qrow took a sip of his flask. "Not everyone plays by your rules, firecracker. Everyone has their own way of doing things."

"Still should've told them."

"**Oh, you noticed that." Roman says after seeing his expression. "You were gonna hand over imprinted goods and just let me twist? Is that the case?" He asks taking the cigar out of his mouth and holds it between his fingers.**

"**We didn't pick the cargo." Jaune defends himself and his crew.**

"**And I didn't flash my ass at the **_**gorram **_**law." Roman responds putting the cigar back in his mouth. "There's no deal."**

"**That ain't fair." Sienna says from her spot behind Jaune.**

**Roman looks to Sienna. "Crime and politics, little girl—the situation is always… fluid."**

"Truer words have never been spoken." Raven said from her spot. Yang looked at her mother before looking away scoffing.

'_I'll question her later.' _Yang thought cracking her knuckles which Ruby noticed.

"**The only fluid I see here is the puddle of piss refusing to pay us our wage." Cardin insults Roman who rises out of his chair as his guards aim their weapon at Jaune and his crew. Reaching for his weapon only to be stopped by a blade to his throat, looking down Cardin sees a petite woman with pink and brown hair and mismatched eyes smile at him. Jaune looks to Cardin and he grits his teeth before holstering his pistol and the blade at his neck disappears. With Cardin taken care of, Jaune looks back to Roman and smiles before approaching the desk.**

"That's the woman who helped Roman escape!" Ruby yelled pointing to the screen once again remembering when the woman helped Roman escape from them from under the pass.

"Calm down sis." Yang said. "Don't get worked up over someone who isn't here." This seemed to calm Ruby down.

"**It doesn't have to go this way." He says stopping a few feet from the desk as Roman gets out of his chair and walks around the desk, setting his cigar in the ashtray. "You know you can still unload those goods, so I can't help thinking there's something else at work here."**

**Roman stops in front of Jaune. "What were you in the war? That big war you failed to win." Roman starts circling Jaune. "You were a sergeant, yeah? Sergeant Jaune Arc. Balls and bayonets brigade." Roman walks over to Sienna after circling Jaune. "Big, tough veteran." Looking her up and down Roman smiles in appreciation, Sienna doesn't show any emotion. Jaune turns around to see what's going on between the two of them.**

"**Now you got yourself a ship, and you're a Captain." Roman said once again facing Jaune. "Only I think you're still a sergeant, see. Still a soldier." He tells Jaune who doesn't react. "Man of honor in a den of thieves. Well, this is my **_**gorram **_**den… and I don't like the way you look down on me." Roman closes the distance so he's face to face with Jaune, a tactic that Jaune knows is to make him uncomfortable and it would have if he wasn't used to it.**

"**I'm above you. Better than. Businessman, see?" Roman adjusts the lapel of his white jacket to emphasis his stature even though he is smaller than Jaune by a few inches. "Roots in the community. You're just a scavenger." He says placing his hands on his belt. **

**Sienna looks at Jaune knowing that he's trying to get a reaction out of him and only hopes that he'll be okay in the tense room.**

"Don't fall for it Jaune." Nora shouted at the screen.

"They just said that he's used to it, Nora." Ren said rubbing his right ear which happened to be the side that Nora is.

"Oh, sorry." Nora said happily that made the adults wonder is she truly is.

"**Maybe I'm not a fancy gentleman like you…" Jaune says getting in Roman's personal space and using his height to tower over Roman. "With your… very fine hat…" He says looking to Roman's bowler hat. "But I do business. We're here for business."**

"**Try one of the border planets. They're a lot more desperate there." Roman tells Jaune with a smile before heading back to his desk. "Of course, they might kill you." He says as he passes Jaune. "But you stay here, and I just know Atlas will track you down. I have that feeling." **

**Jaune takes his leave, "Wheel never stops turnin' Roman." He calls over shoulder as he leaves the hideout with Sienna and Cardin.**

"**That only matters to people on the rim." Roman says as the trio leave his office.**

"Again true." Raven said having spoken the same words but fell upon deaf ears.

"Shh, some of us are trying to watch the show." Qrow said putting some popcorn in his mouth that he stole from Summer who ordered a bowl.

**Meanwhile back at the docks the portly man is still walking with no destination in mind, he glances at a ship before moving on. He pays no attention the young girl sitting in front of the ship twirling a black parasol in her hand.**

"**You're gonna come with us." She tells the portly man.**

"**Excuse me?" The portly man asks stopping in his tracks and wondering if her heard her correctly.**

"**You like ships. You don't seem to be looking at destinations." Ruby states as the man smiles at being found out. "What you care about is the ships, and mine's the nicest." She says pointing to the ship behind her with a smile that is contagious.**

"**She doesn't look like much." The portly man says setting down his bags and looking at the ship.**

"**Oh, she'll fool ya." Ruby says while twirling her parasol, the portly man looks at her. "You ever sail in a Firefly?"**

"**Long before you were crawling." The portly man says before looking to the ship. "Not an aught-three though. Didn't have the extenders. Tended to shake." He said gesturing to the wings on the side of the ship. Ruby smiles as she gets out of her chair having found a like-minded mechanic.**

"**So, uh, how come you don't care where you're goin'?" She asks walking over to the portly man.**

"**Cause how you get there is the worthier part." The portly man sagely says.**

"Wise words." Ozpin said recalling his many travels throughout the many lives he's lived.

"Kind of strange to hear Port give sagely advice." Yang whispered to Blake who agreed.

"I'll have you young ladies know that I'm very "sagely" when I can be." Port said having heard Yang even though she was whispering surprising the two.

"**Are you a missionary?" Ruby asks.**

"**I guess. I'm a shepherd from Beacon. Port." Port introduces himself to Ruby holding out his hand. "I'm called Port." Ruby shakes his hand and let's go with a smile on her face at meeting new people. "Been out of the world for a spell—like to walk it a while. Maybe bring the word of the Brothers to them as need it told."**

"Port as a Shepard kind of makes sense." Leon said getting the portly hunter's attention. "They both travel when needed and both love to hear themselves talk."

"Your right, it makes sense." Glynda said after thinking about it for a minute. _'Plus we would be away from his incessant stories.'_

"**Well, I'm Ruby. And this here's **_**Serenity**_**…" Ruby introduces herself and gestures to the ship behind her. "And she's the smoothest ride from here to Boros for anyone can pay." She tells Port while closing her parasol and holding it behind her. "Can you pay or—" she asks tucking a loose stand of her hair behind her ear.**

"**Well, I got a little cash and, uh—" Port says going back to his bags and grabs a small box and shows the contents to Ruby who gasps.**

"**Ooh. Grandpa." Ruby says slightly drooling at the sight and smiling.**

**Port sighs and closes the box. "I never married." **

"Why does everyone call me grandpa?" Port asked throwing his hands in the air. "I'm not that old nor do I look grandfatherly."

Everyone chose not to say anything and just let the man ponder why everyone calls him grandpa, hopefully he'll figure it out soon.

"What's in the box?" Neptune asked leaning into his seat.

**In another section of the docks Jaune, Sienna and Cardin are walking down a street heading back to **_**Serenity.**_

"**I don't understand why we didn't leave that sumbitch in a pool of his own blood." Cardin said agitated.**

"**We'd be dead. Can't get paid if you're dead." Jaune explains to Cardin leading the group back to the ship.**

"**Can't get paid if you crawl away like a bitty, little bug neither." Cardin states looking to a group of street performers. "I got a share of this job. Ten percent of nothing is—let me do the math here. Nothin' and then nothin'." He says making gestures in the air.**

"**So we find a buyer on Boros. There's gotta be—" Sienna suggests looking to Jaune who shakes his head.**

"**Boros is too big. It's crawlin' with Atlas. They could be waiting for us." He says.**

"**You really think Roman will sell us out to the feds?" She asks as Jaune sees a group of Atlas soldiers patrolling.**

"He's a criminal. If it means getting out of prison, I'm sure he would." Ghira said and Leon agreed with him.

"**If he hasn't already." He says gesturing to the soldiers who look at them before going back to patrolling.**

"**Atlas catches us with government goods, we'll lose the ship." Sienna said looking to Jaune.**

"**That's never gonna happen."**

"**Sir, we could just dump the cargo." Sienna suggests as the group stops and Jaune looks at her surprised.**

"**No ruttin' way. We ain't had a job in weeks." Cardin says. "I didn't sign on with this crew to take in the sights. We need coin."**

"**Cardin, you mouth is talkin'." Jaune address Cadrin. "You might wanna look to that."**

"**I'm ready to stop talkin' when—"**

"**You're right, though." Jaune agrees silencing Cardin. "The last two jobs we had were weak tea. We got nothing saved. Taking on passengers won't help near enough."**

"**We don't get paid for this cargo, we don't have enough money to fuel the ship." He tells Sienna and Cardin. "Let alone keep her in repair. She'll be dead in the water."**

**Sienna places her hands on her hips. "So we do like Roman said? The border planets?" She asks.**

"**I'm thinking Whitefall, maybe talk to Raven." Jaune says.**

"Oh?" Raven's interest was piqued at hearing her name in this universe and she wonders if she still has her clan.

"**Sir, we don't want to deal with Raven again." **

"**Why not?" Jaune asks shrugging his shoulders.**

"**She shot you." Sienna stated remembering the incident.**

"**Well, yeah. She did a bit. Still—" Jaune said feeling a twinge go through his shoulder.**

"Really?" Yang said looking to her mother who just shrugged not caring about Jaune as he doesn't interest her.

"I can see it." Summer said remembering how short tempered Raven was during their time at Beacon. It was no surprise that Yang inherited her mother's temper and it seems like she is getting a handle on it. Raven didn't say anything but looked at Summer who smirked at her which pissed her off and looked back at the screen.

"**So we find somebody else. Horowitz." Sienna said interrupting Jaune before resuming the walk to the ship. **

"**He can't afford it."**

"**Holden boys." Sienna listed off another name.**

"**They wouldn't touch it. Want me to go through the list?" Jaune asked walking beside Sienna. "Capshaws are brain-blown. Junior's dead."**

"**He's dead?" Sienna asks remembering Junior.**

"He's dead" Yang asked at the same time remembering the club owner and buyer and seller of information.

"You're worried about him?" Ruby asked remembering that night when Yang had to be bailed out of the police precinct by their dad. Who took away Bumblebee and the only way for Yang to get it back was to graduate Signal with perfect A's and not get in trouble with the law.

"Well…" Yang said unsure how to answer. Sure she hated dealing with Junior but he was necessary in order to track down her mother and she made sure that he'd come to her if he found out any info. Now it wasn't necessary as her mother is just a few seats from her and she will have her answers even if she has to beat it out of her.

"**Town got hit by Reavers. Burned it right down." Juane explained.**

"**I ain't going anywhere near Reaver territory. Them people ain't human." Cardin says from his spot behind the two.**

"What's a Reaver?" Blake asked since Cardin sounded scared by the mere mention of them.

"You'll find out later." Spart said as a digital hot pocket appeared next to him.

"**Whitefall is the safest and the closest." Jaune said while Sienna sighed. "It's been a long time since Raven shot me, and that was due to a perfectly legitimate conflict of interest."**

"**I got no grudge. She owns half that damn moon now." Jaune explained going down another street. "She could afford what we got, and she might need it."**

"I own half a moon?" Raven surprised before smiling with pride. "My, my."

Qrow internally cringed at the notion of Raven owning anything larger than her clan. He couldn't imagine her running a kingdom or how she would run said kingdom let alone half a moon. Everyone who knows about the self-proclaimed bandit queen shivered.

"**I still don't think she's the way." Sienna said.**

"**I'm not saying it won't be tricky… but we got no kind of choice." Jaune says as he sees the ship and new people along with Tai driving the ATV with the supplies loaded up and large silver crate secured to the trailer.**

"**Welcome aboard Mr…" Ruby asks a man carrying a duffel bag as he walks up the ramp.**

"**Dobson."**

"**Dobson." Ruby says as the man passes her.**

"**We gotta keep our head down… do the job, and pray there ain't no more surprises." Jaune says as he stops before the ramp so Tai can enter the cargo hold with the supplies. **

**Standing on the opposite side of the ramp is a man in his mid to early thirties wearing a black suit and wearing orange circular sunglasses. His white hair and pale skin make him stand out in a crowd, everything about the man screams money and power. He is watching Jaune before looking to Tai.**

The Schnee family froze at the sight of the man which didn't go unnoticed by the rest. "Weiss, what's wrong?" Ruby asked her friend concerned.

"That's my younger brother Whitley." Weiss said in disbelief at seeing her little brother now grown up. "We have a difficult relationship with each other."

'_That's an understatement.' _Willow and Winter thought knowing that Weiss and Whitley don't get along and that Whitley is Jacque's proudest achievement in the Schnee family.

"What family doesn't have troubled siblings." Saphron said remembering some of her siblings not liking each other.

"It's complicated." Weiss said playing with the hem of her dress.

"**Please be careful with that." He tells the other blonde of the **_**Serenity **_**crew.**

"**Jaune, this is Whitley. Whitley, this is our Captain." Ruby introduces the two as they look at each other.**

"**Captain Arc." Whitley says nodding.**

"**Welcome aboard." Jaune tells Whitley wondering why someone of his stature is travelling with them instead of a higher class ship. "This all we got?" He asks Ruby passing by her to which she nods and looks to Whitley with a smile.**

**Inside the cargo hold the passengers are securing their personal belongings while Cardin and Tai undo the ropes securing the silver crate to the trailer and moving it to a section of the hold. Jaune walks to the stairs and places his hands on his gun belt as Sienna stands next to him.**

"**Now we have a boat full of citizens right on top of our… stolen cargo." Sienna says looking to Jaune then to the passengers. "That's a fun mix."**

"**Ain't no way in the 'verse they could find that compartment, even if—" Jaune said but stops as a new passenger passes by them. "Even if they were looking for it." He tells her.**

"**Why not?" Sienna asks curious to which Jaune doesn't reply right away and looks away then back to her as she raises her eyebrows and her tiger ears twitch in humor.**

"**Cause." Jaune said not further elaborating.**

"They're screwed." Sun stated the obvious.

"Yup." Neptune agreed as did everyone in the audience even Jaune.

**Sienna smirks. "Oh, yeah. This is gonna go great." She whispers.**

"**If anyone gets nosy, you know, just… shoot 'em." Jaune tells Sienna before heading up the stairs.**

"I approve." Raven said smiling as she holds the same ideals and tells it to her clan. Vernal had taken them to heart and is proving to be a better fighter for it.

"**Shoot 'em?" Sienna asks with a raised eyebrow and her feline ears twitching once again.**

"**Politely." Jaune said as he continues to climb the stairs while Sienna smiles before going to help secure the extra cargo and supplies. Outside **_**Serenity**_** the shuttle that Pyrrha pilot's hovers over one of the wings.**

"How do you shoot someone politely?" Blake asked with sarcasm.

"It's very difficult but it can be done." Qrow responded reaching over to take some more popcorn from Summer only for his hand to be slapped by her.

"**Pyrrha. Just in time." Tai says over the radio.**

"**Let me guess. We're in a hurry." Pyrrha said as she holds the flight controls.**

"**Looks like. Starboard hatch green for docking." **

"**Locked in five, four-"**

**The shuttle lowers onto the wing before connecting to a track and is brought in into the main body and locking in place.**

"**The ambassador has returned." Tai shouts to Sienna who nods and heads back to the cargo hold to tell Jaune that everyone is back on board.**

"**We got a full house, Captain." Seinna shouts from the top of the stairs in the cargo hold.**

"**Ruby, I'm locking it up." Jaune yells to Ruby who is outside the ship and looks at the horizon and city one more time.**

"**All aboard." She says as she heads into the cargo hold and grabs her foldable chair and parasol as the inner doors close. Inside the hold Whitley is checking on the silver crate and checks his surroundings to make he isn't being watched.**

"He's up to something." Willow said seeing the same look in Jacque from time to time.

"I bet you a salmon that he's an undercover Atlas agent." Yang tells Blake who at first was going to refuse but the prospect of free fish stopped her.

"You're on. I wager that he's smuggling something." Blake said. "If I win then you have to buy me lunch for a week." Yang pondered it for a moment and decided to go for it and the two shook hands sealing the wager.

"Agreed."

Weiss wanted to argue with the both of them for betting on what her brother is doing but she knew that it's folly. Besides Weiss told the truth when she said that she and Whitley don't have the best of sibling relationships. Weiss didn't hate her brother per say but she wished that he wouldn't spend so much time with the man and would just focus on just being a kid, she loved her siblings but their family was complicated.

**After the ship leaves Persephone Jaune gives the new passengers a tour of the ship. "Meals are taken up here in the dining area." He tells the passengers once they are in the dining area, the area is large with a large table in the center of the room. "Kitchen's pretty much self-explanatory. You're welcome to eat what there is any time."**

"**What there is, is pretty standard fare I guess. Protein in all the colors of the rainbow." Jaune tells the group leaning against the kitchen counter. "We do have sit down meals, next one being at about 1800."**

"**I think Shepard Port has offered to help me prepare something." Ruby says pointing to Port who smiles at her.**

"**You're a Shepherd?" Jaune asks.**

"**I though the outfit gave it away." Port says with a smile before it disappears. "Is it a problem?"**

"**Of course not. It's not a problem… cause it's not." Ruby said looking to Jaune while giving him a pointed look.**

"She still has much to learn." Summer said causing Tai to worry having been on the receiving end of one of her "looks" and it's not fun. Qrow can attest to that as well as Raven once you get a couple of drinks in her.

"**No. As I said… you're welcome to visit the dining area anytime." Jaune resumes addressing the passengers. "Apart from that, I have to ask you to stay in the passenger dorm while we're in the air." Whitley looks at Jaune which Sienna notices. "The bridge, engine room, cargo bay. They're all off-limits without and escort."**

"**Some of my personal effects are in the cargo bay." Whitley says.**

"**I figure you all got luggage you're gonna need. Soon as we're done here, we'll by happy to fetch 'em with you." Jaune tells the passengers just as Tai enters the dining area, pushing himself off the counter Jaune walks to the center of the room. "Now, I have to tell you all one other thing… and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, we've been ordered by Atlas to drop some medical supplies off on Whitefall."**

"**It's the fourth moon on Athens." Jaune tells the passengers as Tai leans on the kitchen table. "It's a bit out of our way, but we should have you on Boros no more than a day off schedule."**

"**What medical supplies?" Whitley asks as he didn't see any such supplies while Dobson, the other passenger looks away.**

"Something isn't right about Dobson." Blake said, her instincts honed from years in the White Fang are on alert by the man but she can't say why.

"Agreed." Ilia said.

"**I honestly didn't ask." Jaune says looking to Whitley while Sienna pushes herself off the counter and goes to help her Captain.**

"**Probably plasma, insulin. Whatever they ain't got enough of on the border moons." She tells Whitley standing next to Jaune and crossing her arms.**

"**Atlas says jump…" Jaune tells Whitley while shrugging.**

**Whitley looks to Jaune then to Sienna, "Alright."**

"**Sienna, you want to take them to the cargo bay?" **

"**Yes, sir." Sienna heads out of the dining area with the passengers following her.**

"**Anything else you need, just ask." Jaune tells the passengers as they follow Sienna. "We, uh, live to serve." With the passengers gone Jaune heads to the bridge with Tai.**

"**Did you send word to Raven?" He asks his fellow blonde.**

"**Ain't heard back yet." Tai says then looks to Jaune as they leave the dining area. "Didn't she shoot you?" He asks as Jaune stops in his tracks.**

"**Everybody's making a fuss."**

"How can he be so calm about seeing the woman who shot him?" Pyrrha asked worried for her crush's wellbeing.

"Maybe he is and is just masking it with humor. Kind of like Yang." Weiss said.

"Hey!"

**Inside the cargo hold Whitley is packing some personal items in his bag as he kneels in front of the crate and looks at the panel with a solid green light before closing his bag. Dobson trips and grabs Whitley's shoulder for balance.**

"What are you doing?" Weiss whispered to herself trying to figure what her little brother is doing.

"**Oops. I'm sorry." He says as he reaches for his bag that is right next to the container.**

**Sienna walks down the stairs and looks at Whitley, something about him bugging her and she can't figure it out. Port passes her and heads to the stairs holding a large burlap sack and the small box that he showed Ruby earlier. Walking onto the platform that overlooks the cargo hold he hands the sack and box to Ruby who takes them and sets them on the ground.**

**Dobson trips on the doors leading to the passenger dorms, Jaune looks at the scene and shrugs. Pyrrha exits her shuttle wearing a velvet orange dress with a light blue shawl draped over her should and tied around her hip, her red hair is loose.**

"Love the dress, Pyrrha." Coco said approving of the dress that Pyrrha is wearing on screen. Even Jaune had to admit that she looked beautiful in the dress, the way the fabric clung to her frame only enhanced her beauty.

Pyrrha noticed the light blush on Jaune's face and maybe investing in more casual dresses similar to the one her on screen self is wearing may just help get the idea of her affections through his skull. She has seen similar styles in the Mistral and needs to order some and ask her mother for advice when she gets to the new world line.

"**Ah, the ambassador graces us with her presence." Jaune says when he sees Pyrrha. Port looks at Pyrrha as she steps down some stairs and joins them on the platform.**

"Ambassador?" Nora asks confused looking to Pyrrha who shrugs and looks back at the screen. Hopefully an answer will be revealed.

"**Hello, Jaune. I see we have some new faces." Pyrrha says as she notices Port standing next to Jaune.**

"**Hey, you." Ruby says to Pyrrha with a smile on her face.**

"**Hey, you." Pyrrha responds while Whitley is gathering the rest of things and looking at the scene before going back to examine the container.**

"**Ambassador, this is Shepard Port." Jaune introduces Pyrrha to Port.**

"**I'd have to say this is the first time we've had a preacher on board." Pyrrha says with a warm smile.**

"**Well, I wasn't expecting to see a state official either." Port says offering his hand that Pyrrha shakes. "Ambassador." Jaune chuckles at the scene which Pyrrha glares at him. "I'm missing something funny." He asks confused.**

"**Not so funny." Ruby says holding a box full of produce as she looks at Jaune who is still smiling.**

"**Ambassador is Jaune's way of saying—" Pyrrha says before Jaune interrupts.**

"**She's a whore Shepherd." Jaune states bluntly, Port is shocked at the information.**

"Wow, talk about direct." Yang said crossing her arms.

"To him it's probably something of an inside joke." Tai said eating some of the popcorn that Summer offered to share with him.

"Still doesn't make it right calling her a whore." Yang said to her father.

"**The term is "Companion."" Ruby corrects Jaune.**

"**I always get those mixed up. How's business?" Jaune asks Pyrrha.**

"**None of yours." Pyrrha responds with a smile.**

**Jaune returns the smile before looking to Port. "She is pretty much our ambassador." He tells Port who looks uncomfortable. "There's plenty of planets wouldn't let you dock without a decent Companion on board."**

"**This—This isn't a problem for you, is it, Shepherd?" Jaune asks noticing how uncomfortable Port appears to be.**

"**Well, I—I certainly—" Port tries to find the right words to not be offensive.**

"**It's all right. I mostly keep to myself." Pyrrha says noticing how Port is uncomfortable. "When I'm not whoring." She tells Jaune before leaving with Ruby. Jaune looks confused.**

"**Don't you want to meet the rest of the bunch?" He asks just as Pyrrha and Ruby reach the bottom of the stairs. Both of them turn to face him.**

"**Why don't you make sure they want to meet me first." Pyrrha said before climbing the stairs with Ruby. **

"Oh!" Team RWBY yelled at once throwing their hands in the air.

"P-money has got some claws." Yang said throwing a thumbs up over her shoulder to Pyrrha who just waved in return.

"**So how many fell madly in love with you and wanted to take you away from all this?" Ruby asks.**

"**Just the one. I think I'm slipping." Pyrrha responds while Jaune looks at the duo before looks to Port and smiles.**

"She must be good if she gets multiple offers." Emilia said wondering just how good she is at her job.

"So Companions are legit and aren't looked down upon." Qrow mumbled before looking to the screen with hope in his eyes. "How do I get there?"

Winter scoffed with disgust having heard him.

**Ruby takes the box full of produce into the kitchen and set the box on the counter. Checking to make sure that no one is around, she opens the small box that Port showed her and she takes out a strawberry and smells it. She can't remember the last time she had a strawberry, taking a bite of it she closes her eyes and relishes the taste. Port arrives in the kitchen after Ruby finishes the strawberry and helps her cook up a meal for everyone.**

"Now I want strawberries." Ruby said glumly crossing her arms before remembering the food service. Soon a plate of delicious looking strawberries were delivered by the small droid. Soon everyone craved strawberries after seeing them and were delivered to them for them to enjoy.

"Please don't spoil your appetite as dinner will be served after the next showing." Spart told them from his spot above them.

**Dinner is served and everyone is sitting at the table each filling up their plate with the food that Port and Ruby cooked. **

"**Oh, I'm starved." Jaune says after he gets his plate and sits down while Sienna is dishing up a large portion of meat onto her plate.**

"**This is incredible." She tells Port who smiles at the praise.**

"**It is great." Jaune adds in.**

"**It's not much. I had a garden at the abbey, thought I should bring what I could." Port says unfolding a napkin.**

"**It's very kind of you to share with all of us." Whitley says before taking a sip of his drink.**

"**It won't last." **

"**I'm taking this to Tai." Sienna said while making a second plate for her husband and heading for the bridge.**

"**They're not the same when they're frozen." Port tells the group at the table.**

"**Pass the tomatoes." Dorbin says.**

"**The important thing is the spices." Port tells Whitley who listens. "A man can live on packaged food from here till Judgment Day if he's got enough rosemary." He says with a chuckle but everyone continues to eat.**

"Truer words have never been spoken. I remember a time when I nothing but a pack full of MRE's and a single can of spice which made the ta—" Port told his tale only to be interrupted by Nora' violent coughing.

Jaune came to her rescue and started to part her back but stopped when Nora suddenly stopped coughing and winked at him. Jaune was confused as Nora resumed drinking her soda without going into a coughing fit, he just shook it off and resumed watching.

"**Captain, do you mind if I say grace?" Port asks.**

"**Only if you say it out loud." Jaune responds before spearing a slice of tomato and taking a bite. Port's smile drops before he lowers his head and soon everyone at the table does the same, Jaune continues to eat.**

"**So, does it happen a lot? Government commandeering your ship… telling you where to go?" Whitley asks Jaune after everyone raises their head after grace is done.**

"**That's what governments are for. Get in a man's way." Jaune replies before resuming eating as Sienna returns from the bridge and sits down.**

"A man after my own heart." Raven said smiling as she crossed her legs. Tai frowned at Raven's statement, soon he felt Summer place her hand on his and smiles softly which gets his mind off of Raven.

Ozpin smirked behind his coffee having thought the same thing at least once every time he is reincarnated and has to deal with the council all over again.

"**Well, it's good if the supplies are needed." Dobson said from his spot.**

"**We're just happy to be doing the good works." Cardin says in between bites.**

"**I hear a lot of the border moons are in bad shape. Plagues and famine." Dobson says.**

"**Well, some of that's exaggerated, and some of it ain't." Sienna says looking to Dobson. "All those moons, just like the central planets. They're as close to Remnant as we can make 'em." Everyone listens as Sienna continues her explanation. "Gravity, atmosphere and such, but-"**

"**Once they're terra-formed, they'll dump settlers on there." Jaune said interrupting Sienna. "With nothing but blankets, hatchets… maybe a herd." He tells Dobson who listens. "Some of them make it. Some of them…" He leaves it there for the others to figure out.**

"Sounds horrible." Ruby said slouching in her seat at the news.

"Politics at its finest." Raven said with a scoff. "Those with power live in comfort while the rest live in the dirt. Also makes a convenient place to dump all the trouble makers in Atlas."

"**Then I guess it's god we're helping." Whitley says getting Jaune to look at before resuming his meal.**

"**You're a doctor, right?" Ruby asks Whitley switching topics.**

**Whitley looks to her. "Oh, uh, yes. I was a trauma surgeon on Osiris in the Capital City." He tells her.**

"**Long way from here." Jaune says.**

"**You seem so young to be a doctor." Ruby states because she always sees doctors as middle aged or older.**

**Whitley smiles slightly having heard that statement before. "Yeah. You're pretty young to be a ship's mechanic." **

**Cardin looks at the two and smirks.**

"Oh no, he's planning something." Velvet said having seen the same look before.

"**Know how." Ruby says bashfully while picking apart her fish. "Machines just got workings, and they talk to me." She says with a smile.**

"**That's a rare gift." Port tells Ruby.**

"**Well, not like being a doctor." She says looking to Whitley and blushing slightly before looking back at Port. "Helping fix people… that's important."**

"**Little Ruby here just wishes you was a gynecologist." Cardin points to Ruby with his fork and laughs at his joke. Ruby looks away from Whitley and down at her food.**

"He's a dead man." Yang said eyes flashing from lilac to red and smashing her fists her together. Weiss made a face at Cardin's vulgar language which surprised her since she shares a dorm with Yang. Blake had to take several deep breathes to calm herself. No one badmouths her team and gets away with it. Ruby covered her face with her hood to hide her embarrassment.

Tai clenched his fists and Summer squeezed his hand in anger.

"What's his name again." Qrow asked cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"**Cardin." Jaune address Cardin with a calm voice. "You will keep a civil tongue in that mouth, or I will sew it shut." He looks at Cardin from his spot at the table. "Is there and understanding between us?" Dobson looks between Jaune and Cardin.**

**Cardin swallows his food as he looks at Jaune. "You don't pay me to talk pretty. Just because Ruby gets lubed up over some big-city dandy—"**

"Let's break his legs!" Nora yelled standing in her seat and pointing at the screen. WBY agreed with the energetic ginger, even Pyrrha silently agreed with her.

"**Walk away from this table. Right now." Jaune tells Cardin with a firm voice. Everyone at the table is quiet as they look at Cardin and Jaune. Cardin clenches his teeth before getting out of his chair and dishing up a second helping onto his plate and heads for his cabin. The pleasant atmosphere is gone thanks Cardin's crude joke and the tension between him and Jaune.**

"Tell him Jaune." Nora said sitting back down and becoming her cheerful self once again. The immediate shift in her personality confused everyone except for the rest of her team who are already used to it.

Seeing Jaune so commanding made the girls swoon at his tone and his authority. Some of them blushed as they imagined Jaune using the same tone on them in the bedroom. Even Weiss had to admit that seeing Jaune tell Cardin off was a turn on though she wouldn't admit it.

"He commands respect in his crew." James said admiring the way Jaune commanded his crew and handled Cardin. He knows some soldiers are like Cardin and need a firm hand to keep them in check and that fell on his shoulders. "He doesn't tolerate bigotry on his ship."

"Sounds like you admire him, Woody." Qrow said looking at the Atlas general behind him.

"I do." James said not further elaborating on his answer.

"I do as well." Ruby said emerging from her hood and quickly retreated back in after saying that out loud. Yang smiled so big that it threatened to break her face and opened her mouth to tease Ruby but stopped when Summer smiled and shook her head.

Jaune blushed hearing Ruby say that she admired him. Pyrrha clenched her teeth, Nora smiled sweetly that didn't reach her eyes and Velvet's ears drooped.

**Jaune pays no mind to it and spears another slice of a tomato. **

"**What do you pay him for?" Whitley asked.**

**Jaune takes a moment to think of a good answer. "Public relations." He says before taking a bite of the tomato.**

"Really?" Ruby said emerging from her hood once again. Jaune just shrugged when Pyrrha looked at him.

**Inside Pyrrha's shuttle she is wearing a robe and kneels in front of a small decorative bowl, removing her robe to reveal her naked body she grabs a sponge and dips into the bowl and scrubs herself with the clean water in the bowl. This ritual is meant to cleanse her body and soul, a ritual that was taught to her by her mentor. Pyrrha does this ritual every time she finishes a contract; she doesn't hear Port enter her shuttle carrying a tray of food until he speaks.**

"That's actually a custom in Mistral." Pyrrha said remembering the custom of her homeland. "Sadly the tradition is in decline."

"Such traditions are sadly dying out." Oobleck said adjusting his glasses. Ozpin can attest to that having seen many traditions of different cultures fade over time during his many lives.

"**If I'm intruding…" Port says quickly looking away when he sees Pyrrha naked.**

"**Not at all." Pyrrha says putting the sponge back into the bowl and putting back on her robe. "I expected you."**

"**Couldn't really say the same." Port says turning to face her once again now that she is dressed.**

"**So, would you like to lecture me on the wickedness of my ways?" She asks rising to her feet and facing Port.**

"**I brought you some supper." Port says lifting the tray of food for Pyrrha to see. "But if you'd prefer a lecture… I have a few catchy one prepped." He walks over to Pyrrha and stops in front of her. "Sin and hellfire. One has lepers."**

"**I think I'll pass." Pyrrha says with a wide smile that Port returns, she reaches for the tray of food. "But thank you for this."**

"**The Captain said you might like it." Port tells her as she takes the tray from him. "I was surprised at his concern."**

**Pyrrha sets the tray on a nearby table. "For a lowly whore?"**

"**It was unjust of him to say that."**

"**Believe me, I've called him worse." Pyrrha said as she grabs a pillow from the foot of her bed. "Anyway, I suspect he has more interest in making you uncomfortable than me." She tells Port throwing the pillow on her bed and starts folding the corners of her bedsheets.**

"**He's not wildly interested in ingratiating himself with anyone." Port says putting his hands behind his back. "Yet he seems very protective of his crew. It's odd." **

"Sounds like Qrow." Summer whispered to Tai who nodded thinking back to their time in Beacon. When they first met Qrow, he didn't like being around them preferring to be alone and over time he'd warm up to them and became protective of his new family.

**With the bedsheets fixed and proper, Pyrrha faces Port. "Why are you fascinated by him?" She asks after he finishes his analysis of Jaune. She goes around the corner of her bed and stops when Port says something that catches her attention.**

"**Because he's something of a mystery." Port said watching Pyrrha's body language. "Why are you?" He asks having noticed the looks she gives to Jaune when he's not looking.**

**Pyrrha smiles before she looks away. "Because so few men are."**

"Even here Pyrrha likes that blonde oaf." Weiss grumbled as she crossing her arms wondering just what the famous Spartan sees in the blonde.

"Jealous?" Yang asks Weiss who just scoffs and looks away.

**Jaune is currently taking a piss in his cabin's toilet, zipping his pants up he flips the toilet back into wall where it flushes before pulling out a sink and washes his hands. Splashing some water on his face he pushes the sink back into the wall and grabs a towel to dry his hands.**

"Man of mystery, huh?" Yang said raising her eyebrow at the sight of Jaune using the bathroom.

"Maybe we should incorporate those designs into the Atlas fleet." James said making sure to remember the pull out toilet and sink for when he gets to the new world line. "They would save space in the ships."

"**Jaune, you might want to get up here." Tai says over the intercom. **

**Throwing the towel on his bed he climbs the ladder that leads into his cabin and enters the hallway that leads to the bridge. "What is it?" He asks running unto the bridge.**

"**A signal. Somebody went on the cortex, hailed the nearest Atlas cruiser." Tai told Jaune as he ran over to him and points to a screen on the control console.**

"**Tell me you scrambled it." Jaune asked worried.**

"**All to hell, but I don't know how much got through." Tai says looking to Jaune. "Atlas got a pin in us for sure."**

**Jaune swears in the Faunus language and Tai agrees.**

"**We got a mole on board." Tai said and Jaune has a pretty good idea on who it is as he leaves the bridge.**

"I bet its Whitley." Yang said rubbing her hands together in preparation for winning her bet with Blake.

"Let's see what happens." Blake responded looking forward to winning lunch for a week.

**Inside the cargo hold Whitley is kneeling in front of the crate and checking the screens making sure that everything is still good. Satisfied he get up and heads back to his dorm to see Jaune standing in his way.**

"**Forget your toothpaste?" Jaune asks before punching Whitley in the face knocking him to the ground.**

Weiss frowned when Jaune punched her brother. Sure Jacque favorited him over her but she didn't wish harm upon him. He's just been misguided by her _father_.

"**Are you out of your mind?" Whitley asks holding his cheek.**

"**Just about. What'd you tell them?" Jaune asks shaking out his hand.**

"**Tell who?" Whitley asks confused as he gets to his feet.**

**Jaune draws his pistol. "I got no time games." He aims at Whitley's head. "What do they know?"**

"**You're a lunatic." Whitley told Jaune who cocks his pistol.**

"**And you're a **_**gorram **_**fed."**

"Called it! I'll take the salmon, Blake." Yang yelled raising her fists in triumph and pointed at Blake who just smiled back.

"The bet is still on, Yang. Jaune called him a fed but he never admitted it." Blake said still smiling as Yang calmed down.

"**Hate to say it, Captain…" Port says enters the cargo hold and getting their attention. "But you've got the wrong man." Jaune looks at Port and thinks that a Shepherd would make the perfect spy, they could anywhere and no one bats an eye at a Shepherd. Port then looks up, Jaune and Whitley turn their heads to see Dobson on the stairs aiming a gun at them.**

"Looks like your instinct about Dobson was right." Yang told Blake.

"Yup, and you lose the bet." Blake said to Yang who slouched in her seat and crossed her arms in frustration. "There's a restaurant in Vale that serves a delicious smoked salmon." Yang just stuck her tongue out at Blake who smirked and drooled slightly at the week worth of free food curtesy of Yang.

"Three people who are generally ignored by the public. Drunks, Shepherds and the plain." Qrow said holding up his drink in a mock toast. "One of the reasons why people ignore me."

"And not because you smell like a gas station toilet." Tai said getting Qrow to flip him the bird and he responded by blowing him a kiss. Summer laughed at the interaction between the two, even Raven smiled at the sight.

"**Son of bitch." Jaune says lowering his eyes and his gun.**

"**Drop that firearm, Captain Arc." Dobson tells Jaune who complies and drops his weapon and raises his hands in surrender.**

**Jaune chuckles and wonders what else could go wrong. "This is not my best day ever."**

"**Whitley Schnee, you are bound by law to stand down." Dobson tells Whitley as he descends the stairs keeping his weapon trained on the both of them. Whitley frowns and hold up his hands.**

"Wait, what?" Weiss asked dumbfounded as to why her younger brother is being arrested by the law. As is everyone in the audience, especially the Schnee family.

'_Is this Jacque's doing?' _Willow thought and knew deep down that he would do such a thing.

"**What?" Jaune asks confused then puts the pieces together. "The doctor. Oh." He points to Whitley and drops his hands. "Hey, is there—is there a reward?"**

"Wow." Yang said surprised that Jaune only concern if a possible reward on Whitley rather than wondering worrying about an Atlas agent on board.

"He could be trying to throw the agent off with humor." Jaune said drinking his water.

"**Get on the ground." Dobson orders Whitley who doesn't comply. "Get on the ground!"**

"**Officer, you are making a mistake." Whitley tries to reason with Dobson.**

"**You best get on the ground, son." Jaune tells Whitley while looking at Dobson's posture which isn't good. "The man seems a mite twitchy."**

"**I think everybody could stand to calm down a bit." Port says in a calm voice approaching the groups with his hands in full view to appear non-threatening.**

"**This isn't your business, Shepherd." Dobson tells Port.**

"**The boy's not going anywhere, officer." Port continues to approach. "As I understand it, it's pretty cold outside."**

"**Not to worry." Jaune says placing his hands on his belt. "Put Lord Fauntleroy in one of the passenger cells. He won't make a peep." Jaune then reaches for his weapon.**

"**Get the hell away from that weapon!" Dobson shouts pointing his weapon at Jaune who backs away. "Do you think I'm a complete back-birth?" He asks as he aims his weapon back at Whitley who still has his hands up. "You're carrying a fugitive across interplanetary borders."**

"**You think I actually believe you're bringing medical supplies to Whitefall?" Dobson says while Jaune scoffs at the accusation. "As far as I care, everyone on this ship is culpable."**

"**Well, now." Jaune said adopting a reserved expression similar to the one he showed to Cardin in the dining area earlier. "That has an effect on the landscape."**

"He's fucked." Sun stated knowing that Jaune cares for his crew and won't let anyone threaten them. Leon agreed with Winter even though he didn't say it.

"Mr. Wukong, please refrain from using such vulgar language." Glynda said reprimanding the blonde Faunus who just shrugged his shoulder in response.

"Indeed." Winter said as family is important to her and she will protect them to the best of her ability. Except for her father.

"**Please, we're very close to true stupidity here." Port says approaching Dobson slowly.**

"**I got a cruiser in route for intercept." Dobson tells Port. "So talk all you want. You got about 20 minutes."**

"**You might have less than that." Jaune says,**

"**Yeah, threaten me." Dobson tells Jaune.**

"**For God's sake." Port says stepping closer.**

"**You think I wouldn't shoot a Shepherd?" Dobson asks pointing his gun at Port. "Back off!"**

"**Take the kid." Jaune grabs Whitley while Dobson is distracted.**

"**Get your hands off!" Whitley struggles against Jaune.**

"**Stand the hell down!" Dobson shouts aiming his gun at Jaune and Whitley.**

"**Stop it!" Port shouts.**

"This is going to end badly." Kali said holding Ghira's hand for comfort. Everyone can fell it in the air that something bad is going to be happening soon.

"**What is—" Ruby asks entering the cargo hold with Cardin. Dobson reacts quickly and shoots Ruby hitting her in the abdomen. Ruby falls back against the wall and holds her abdomen as blood flows from the bullet wound. "What?"**

"Ruby!"

"He's dead."

"No!" Summer shouted at the sight of her daughter being shot, she grasped Tai's hand painfully not that he noticed as he glared at the man who shot his little girl. Even Qrow felt anger at the man as his jaw clenched tightly that everyone near him could hear his teeth grinding against each other.

Jaune felt anger rise at the sight of one of his friends being shot, let alone his first friend that he made at Beacon.

"**Ruby!" Pyrrha shouts emerging from her shuttle to see what is going on just to see Ruby get shoot. Jaune lets go of Whitley and goes for his pistol while Cardin draws his. Port moves on Dobson and grabs his gun before punching him in the throat and then in the face knocking him out just as Jaune grabs his gun and aims. **

**Whitley runs toward Ruby while Cardin moves on Dobson. Pyrrha is rushing down the stairs to help with Ruby who is whimpering.**

"**How do you feel?" Whitley asks as Jaune joins him and helps him lay Ruby down on the floor.**

"**A little odd." Ruby says.**

"**Be still. Be still." Whitley tells her.**

**Cardin approaches Port looking pissed. "Get out of the way." He tells Port who is standing over Dobson.**

"**You're not killing this man." Port tells Cardin who looks at Dobson.**

"**Not right away."**

"**He's no threat." Port says trying to reason with Cardin.**

"**Why did he—" Ruby asks but trails off as Whitley opens her jacket to better see the wound.**

"**Oh, wow. That ain't hardly a mosquito bite." Jaune said to Ruby looking at the gunshot wound.**

"**Big mosquito." Ruby says sounding dazed. Pyrrha runs toward her taking off her outer robe.**

"A gunshot to the stomach, not good." James said recognizing the dangers that a stomach wound can cause if left untreated. As did every Hunter with experience.

"**Move." Cardin orders.**

"**Not gonna happen." Port says with determination.**

**Cardin cocks his pistol and aims it at Port. "I ain't jokin', Preacher."**

"**Cardin." Sienna says from the platform above him. She is holding her lever action rifle that has a short barrel so it can be used indoors. She aims the rifle at Dobson. "Just tie him up. Do it." Cardin scowls but complies.**

"Never thought I would see Cardin obeying a Faunus." Velvet said to herself.

"**Ruby, stay with me. Stay with me." Whitley tells Ruby while Pyrrha makes a pillow out of her robe and places it under Ruby's head. "Can you move your feet?"**

"**Are you asking me to dance?" Ruby asks her eyes half closed.**

"**She's going into shock." Whitley states.**

"**Ruby. **_**Mei-mei,**_** you have to focus." Pyrrha tells Ruby keeping her head in place.**

**Sienna comes down the stairs. "The gun, Shepherd." She holds out her hand. "Please." Port hands over the gun.**

**Ruby yelps in pain as Whitley applies pressure to the wound and groans in pain as he continues to apply pressure.**

"**The infirmary working?" Whitley asks looking to Jaune.**

"**Yeah, we got it stocked." Jaune says while holding Ruby's hand for comfort. Sienna walks over to see how Ruby is doing.**

"_**Captain, we've been hailed by a cruiser. Ordered to stay on course… and dock for prisoner transfer." **_**Tai says over the intercom. Jaune looks at Whitley is now looking panicked. He looks to Ruby who is taking slow breaths, standing up he looks at Jaune.**

"**Change course." He says getting Jaune's attention. "Run."**

"**Hell with you." Jaune replies. "You brought this down on us. I'm dumping you with the law."**

"**Jaune." Pyrrha says trying to get attention.**

"**She's dying." Whitley states.**

**Jaune shakes his head. "You're not gonna let her."**

"**Yes, I am."**

"Wow, your brother can be a dick." Yang told Weiss who didn't answer but agreed with her since he took Jacque's lessons to heart.

"He must have a good reason for running from the law." Willow said worried for her son's safety and wondering what he did to draw the ire of Atlas.

"**No, you can't." Jaune says standing up to face Whitley.**

"**No way the feds'll let us walk." Sienna chips in.**

"**Then we dump him in a shuttle and leave him." Jaune tells Sienna.**

"**Everybody's so mad." Ruby says looking to Pyrrha.**

"**It's okay, Ruby." Pyrrha comforts her.**

**Whitley looks at Ruby and the gunshot wound. "Do you know what a stomach wound does to a person?" He asks Jaune.**

"**I surely do." **

"**Then you know how crucial the next few minutes are." Whitley said looking to Ruby once more.**

"**You let her die, you'll never make it to the feds." Sienna threatens Whitley who looks at her.**

"**She'll still be dead."**

"**You rich kids." Jaune says with disdain getting Whitley to look back at him. "You think your lives are the only thing that matters. What'd you do? Kill your folks for the family fortune?" **

"**I don't kill people!" Whitley shouts.**

"**Then do your job."**

"**Turn the ship around."**

"**Enough!" Pyrrha yells growing tired and concerned for Ruby, she stands up. "Jaune, do it."**

**Jaune looks to Pyrrha. "Don't you ever tell me what to do on-" whatever Jaune is about to say is cut off by Ruby grabbing his boot and sobbing in pain. "Sienna, change course."**

**Whitley nods. "Help me get her up." He orders Jaune as he goes to help Ruby up. Sienna goes to the intercom and hits the switch for the bridge.**

"**Tai, change course and go for hard burn. We're runnin'." She said looking to Jaune helping Whitley carry Ruby to the infirmary. **

_**Serenity **_**changes course and flies away from the cruiser that can be seen in the distance.**

"Please be ok." Yang said forgetting that Ruby is sitting next to her alive and unharmed. Ruby held her sisters hand to comfort her.

**Pyrrha opens the doors to the infirmary for Jaune and Whitley as they carry Ruby through the doors and into the sterile medical room, they set her on the bed in the middle of the room. Whitley goes to search the cabinets for the tools he'll need while Jaune grabs the overhead light and switches it on.**

"**You have an extractor?" Whitley asks finding an injector gun.**

"**Got a laser saw." Jaune says moving the light so it shows on the gunshot wound.**

"**No, that's not good enough." Whitley said before looking to Pyrrha. "Uh, my room, red bag." Pyrrha leaves the room and goes to find his room. Whitley finds some sedatives and begins filling an injector gun with the correct dosage.**

"**When this over, you and me are gonna have a personal chat." Jaune tells Whitley as he pats Ruby's head to comfort her.**

"**Won't that be fun." Whitley says before handing Jaune the injector. "Dope her." Jaune injects in the neck and soon she falls asleep, Whitley hands gloves to Jaune who puts it on just as Pyrrha returns with a red bag. Opening the bag and retrieving his tools before putting on his own pair of gloves and an apron.**

**Jaune assists Whitley in removing the bullet fragments from Ruby while Pyrrha and Cardin watch from the outside. With the bullet removed Whitley stitches the wound closed and removes his bloody gloves while Jaune and Pyrrha look over Ruby who is sleeping.**

"**Can't do anything more till she stabilizes." Whitley tells Jaune and Pyrrha who is putting back on her robe. His back is to them so he can't see Jaune's glare but he can feel it bearing into his back as he removes his bloody apron.**

"**Will she?" Jaune asks with his arms crossed.**

"**I can't say yet."**

"**I want to know what's going on here." Pyrrha says finally putting on her robe.**

"**Well, then why don't we find out?" Jaune asks looking away from Ruby's sleeping form and leaves the medical bay.**

"**What are—No!" Whitley shouts catching Jaune's meaning and runs to stop him. "No. Stay away from that." He tells Jaune who is walking toward the silver crate. He tries to stop Jaune but is stopped by Cardin who grabs him and puts him in a choke hold, Whitley tries to get out of the hold as Jaune walks toward the crate.**

"**Where's the fed?" Jaune asks Cardin who brings Whitley along with him.**

"**Secured. The Shepherd's with him." Cardin informs Jaune. "He seems to think he's not safe alone with me." **

**Jaune grabs the crate and pulls it out from its spot with the other supplies along the wall. Kneeling in front of the crate he grabs two buttons and twists them which unlocks a lever, pulling the lever the top of the crate opens a bit, white mists floats out of the box and a beeping can be heard.**

"Looks like your right about him smuggling something." Yang told Blake after freeing her hand from Ruby and thanking her.

"The question is what is he smuggling." Ozpin spoke looking at the white smoke emerging from the open crate.

"My guess would be medical supplies." Ilia said having seen the same smoke from medical supplies that need to be kept cool.

"**No." Whitley says still struggling against Cardin. Tai and Sienna arrive having been called by Pyrrha just in time to see the white mist coming out of the crate.**

"**Well, let's see what a man like you would kill for." Jaune says looking to Whitley.**

"**No, don't!" Whitley shouts as Jaune kicks the lid of the crate off, white mist floats out of the box as Cardin lets Whitley go to see what's in the crate. Pyrrha enters the cargo hold after calling Sienna and Tai to see Jaune looking at the contents of the crate.**

RWBY and JNPR lean forward in their seats hoping it would allow them to see what's in the box.

Spart chuckled at the sight having seen such things before from people who are engrossed in a show or game and want to see what's next.

**Inside the crate is a young woman roughly in her early twenties with her knees to her chest, her white hair is damp and she is naked. The crate seems to be a makeshift cryo box. Jaune looks to Whitley then back to the young girl.**

"**Huh."**

That statement summed up what RWBY and JNPR felt when they saw the woman in the crate.

"He's smuggling a person?" Ruby asked confused as to why he is doing such a thing.

Blake looked at Weiss then to the person in the crate, she had a theory but she didn't want to say it just yet.

Nora frowned at the sight thinking back to her childhood when she had to sleep in boxes to keep warm from the coldest of nights and for safety. She felt someone's hand on hers and saw Jaune giving her a warm smile that chased away the painful memories of her past.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked concern in his voice.

"I'm fine. Just painful memories." She said before blushing when Jaune didn't remove his hand from hers. In the background she saw Pyrrha smile that didn't reach her eyes which promised pain. Jaune let her hand go and looked back at the screen.

Ren embraced Nora in a brotherly hug. "The past is the past. All that matters is the future." He quoted his father who smiled at his son for taking care of the girl. It was obvious to Li and An that their son cared for the girl like a younger sister.

**Whitley goes to the crate but is stopped by Cardin. "I need to check her vitals." He says. Sienna, Tai and Pyrrha are confused as to what's going on.**

"**Oh, is that what they call it? Jaune asks Whitley walking away from the crate a bit.**

"**She's not supposed to wake up for another week. The shock—"**

"**The shock of what? Waking up?" Jaune asks mockingly. "Finding out she's been sold to some border-world baron? Or—I'm sorry. Was this one for you? Is it true love?" Gesturing to the crate with the young girl. "You do seem a little—"**

**The girl wakes up screaming scaring Jaune as he backs away from the crate. The girl gasps as she climbs out of the crate and falls onto the ground screaming in fear as she examines her surroundings and backs away so her back is against the crate. Whitley frees himself from Cardin and slowly approaches the young girl slowly with his hands open.**

"**W—Weiss. Hey, it's okay." Whitley says placing his hands on her shoulder as Weiss hyperventilates. "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. I'm here." Weiss calms down when she hears his voice and the haze obscuring her vision clears.**

Ruby, Yang and Blake look to their heiress who is looking at the screen in shock that the woman in the crate is her. Seeing the white hair should have been a dead giveaway but they didn't connect the dots as the Schnee don't own the rights for white hair.

"What is going on?" Willow asked and Winter is also wondering what is going and where she is in tis universe.

"**Whitley." She says looking to her older brother who smiles warmly. "Whitley, they—they talk to me." Weiss says going into hysteria as she holds her hands up to either side of her head. "They want me to—they want me to—"**

**Whitley's smile disappears as he tries to calm down his little sister. "No. they're gone. They're gone. They're gone." He tells Weiss who is now on the verge of crying. "They're gone. We're safe now. We're safe. We're safe. I'm here." He tells her bringing her into a hug as she sobs into his shoulder.**

"What happened to you, Weiss." Ruby asked playing with the end of her hood cape.

**Everyone in the cargo hold look at the two with confusion.**

"**What the hell is this?" Jaune asks.**

"**This is my sister." Whitley tells Jaune as he continues to comfort Weiss who stopped sobbing and is now breathing erratically. Pyrrha approaches the two and hands him her robe, Whitley thanks her and covers Weiss with the robe before helping her stand.**

"**Mind explain' this?" Jaune asks now wanting to know just what the hell he's gotten his crew into.**

"**Let me check her vitals. Then I'll explain." Whitley offers and a look from Pyrrha gets Jaune to agree.**

"**Sienna, go with him and bring him to the dining area, once he's done." Jaune orders Sienna as Whitley leads Weiss to the infirmary while everyone heads for the dining room. Upon seeing the infirmary Weiss gets scared and refuses to enter the medical room. After some coaxing from Whitley she relents and he brings her to a counter, he tells her to sit on the counter which she does.**

**Whitley goes to his bag and pulls out a syringe and a small vial of brown liquid and returns to Weiss. Pushing up the sleeve of her left arm, he cleans the area he is going to insert the needle and shows the syringe to Weiss who makes a face at the sight of the needle. Whitley chuckles at her expression he fills the syringe with the correct dosage and inserts the needle in her arm and injects her.**

Willow chuckles at her daughter's expression to the needle.

"Didn't know you're afraid of needles." Ruby said as Weiss hides her embarrassment with her hands.

"I'm not afraid of needles." She said with a firm voice still removing her hand from her face.

"It's ok to be afraid of something, Weiss." Ruby told Weiss looking to the white themed girl who looked at her. "We're all afraid of something. That doesn't make you weak, it makes you human." She said channeling her inner Ozpin and sounding sagely for her age.

"She's right, ice princess." Qrow said getting a glare from Winter for calling her younger sister that idiotic nickname. Weiss also gave him a glare of her own while Willow smiled at the nickname. "Being a Huntsmen is a dangerous profession, and those that say they aren't afraid of the job are lying."

"Amen." Tai said and everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "We all have our fears." He told Weiss before pointing to Port.

"Mice."

"Where!" Port yelled jumping out of his seat and scanning the ground for any of the unsightly little vermin.

"Paperwork."

"I have a carpal tunnel syndrome and doing paperwork causes it to flare up." Ozpin stated while Glynda glared at him.

"Any meaningful relationships."

"Hey!" Qrow and Raven shouted at the same time but was ignored as Tai continued.

"Point is; we all have our personal fears." Tai said adopting a fatherly tone. "If you're afraid of needles than so what. That's what makes you, you."

Weiss remained silent as she thought about Tai's advice. Summer kissed Tai and whispered "That's hot" to him. Blake also thought about his words and touched her bow that hid her ears. She wore it to hide her Faunus traits and blend in with the rest, she wore it because she was afraid of being judged for her traits.

"Wise words, Mr. Xio Long." Ozpin said remembering the blonde as a prankster during his time at Beacon.

Tai smiled and rubbed the back of head.

**After the shot Weiss lays down on the counter and Whitley brings a pillow and a blanket from one of the cabinets and cover her. Holding her hand Whitley stays with Weiss until she falls asleep. Once she asleep Whitley follows Sienna to the dining area and sees everyone waiting. **

**Whitley is standing before everyone in the dining area. He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves before speaking.**

"**I am very smart. I went to the best medacad on Osiris. Top three percent of my class finished my internship in eight months." Whitley tells the group as he places his hands in front of him. "'Gifted' is the term. So when I tell you that my little sister… makes me look like an idiot child… I want you to understand my full meaning."**

Everyone listened to Whitley as he began his tale. The Schnee family made sure to pay special attention.

"**Weiss was more than gifted. She—she was a gift." Whitley says recalling Weiss when she was younger. "Everything she did—you know, music, math… theoretical physics, even—even dance—there was nothing that didn't come naturally to her… as breathing does to us." He recalls a memory and chuckles. "And she could be a real… brat about it too. I mean she used to—" Whitley stops when he sees everyone's bored expression.**

**Cardin gets out of chair clearly bored and goes to get a refill on his drink.**

"**There was a—a school- a, uh—a government-sponsored academy." Whitley says after clearing his throat. "We had never even heard of it, but it had the most exciting program—the most challenging."**

**Jaune is listening to the tale and looks at Cardin as he refills his drink behind him.**

"**We could have sent her anywhere. We had the money, but… she wanted to go. She wanted to learn. She was 14." Whitley stops recalling the day she left for the academy. "I, uh—I got a few letters at first, and then I didn't hear for months."**

"**Finally I got a letter that made no sense. She—she talked about things that never happened. Jokes that we never—it was a code. It just said… "They're hurting us. Get me out.""**

"**How'd you do it?" Sienna asks sitting next to her husband.**

"**Money. And—and luck." Whitley tells her. "For two years I couldn't get near her. Then I was contacted by some men—some kind of underground movement." He told them. "They—they said that she was in danger, that—that the government was… playing with her brain."**

Winter clenched her fists so tightly that her leather gloves groaned in protest when she heard about what her sister went through. She is also proud of Whitley for looking out for his sister.

Willow scowled at the thought of her daughter being nothing more than experiment for Atlas.

Weiss is shocked to hear what her counterpart went through and slightly touched that Whitley went to get her out of their hands.

"Are such things happening in Atlas, James." Ozpin asked the general and the rest of the audience wanted to know as well as they looked to the general of Atlas.

"I can assure you all. No such experiments are being done in Atlas that I'm aware of." James told them.

"That doesn't mean that it's happening in a different part of Atlas." Sienna said thinking of the many White Fang prisoners that have disappeared from prisons.

James didn't say anything as he didn't know everything that is happening in Atlas. Especially what the other Councilmen are doing when they aren't meeting with each other.

"**If I funded them, they could sneak her out in cryo… get her to Persephone, and from there I could take her… wherever."**

"**Will she be alright?" Pyrrha asked concerned for the young girl.**

**Whitley shakes his head. "I don't know if she'll be alright. I don't know what they did to her or why." He looks down. "I—I just have to keep her safe."**

Willow is proud of her son for looking after his sister. _'He could've been better than Jacque if only I stood up and raised him myself.' _

**Everyone is quiet once Whitley is finished telling them about Weiss.**

"**That's quite a story, son." Port says speaking first.**

"**Yeah. It's a tale of woe. Very stirring." Jaune says walking to the front of the group. "But in the meantime, you've heaped a world of trouble on me and mine." He tells Whitley.**

"**I never thought—"**

"**No, I don't imagine you thought." Jaune interrupts Whitley with his arms crossed. "In consequence of which we got a kidnapped federal officer on board… we got Atlas hard on our trail and Ruby—"**

"**How much does Atlas know?" Sienna asks her husband.**

**Tai covers his face with his hands and removes them with a sigh. "I can't say. I killed the message pretty quick, so they may just have our position." He says while rubbing his hands together.**

**Jaune turns to face the group. "Or they might have personal profiles on each and every one of us." He says looking to each of his crew. "Till that fed wakes up, we don't know."**

"**So what do we do?" Cardin asks. Jaune thinks looking to Cardin then to Pyrrha.**

"**The job. We finish the job." He tells Cardin who's face twitches. "I got word from Raven. She's waiting for us. We circle round to Whitefall… make the deal, get out, keep flying." Jaune's crew agree with him.**

"A sound plan." Li spoke up.

"**What about us?" Whitley asks curious.**

**Jaune faces Whitley. "Ruby comes through, you and your sister get off at Whitefall." He tells him.**

"**If she doesn't come through?"**

"**Well, then you're getting off a mite sooner." Jaune tells him, Cardin smiles as he drinks.**

"**That'd be murder." Port says looking at Jaune and Pyrrha looks at him with disbelief at his words.**

"**Boy made a decision." Jaune says facing the group once again.**

"**He didn't shoot her." Pyrrha says looking Jaune in the eye.**

"**No, but somebody else did on this boat and I'm scratching my head as to why we ain't dealt with him." Cardin tells Pyrrha before looking to Jaune.**

"**Kill a fed? Can you think of a stupider thing to do?" Sienna asks Cardin as her tiger ears twitch in annoyance.**

"**He can I.D. us." Cardin says leaning in his chair to face Sienna.**

"**Throw me out the air lock. Fine." Whitley tells Jaune. "But Weiss is not a part of this."**

**Tai raises his hand. "Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?" He asks Jaune.**

"**We don't vote on my ship. Because my ship is not the rutting town hall." Jaune tells Tai.**

"**This is insanity." Pyrrha yells.**

"**I think we're are ways beyond that now, **_**sir**_**." Tai says shaking his head before looking to Sienna. "Tell him, we're gonna talk this through."**

"**I will not sit by while there's killing." Port adds and soon everyone in the room is voicing their opinions, voice overlap with each other with different opinions on the matter and rising in volume.**

"_**Quiet!" **_**Jaune shouts in the Faunus language silencing everyone. "The way it is; is the way it is." He tells them. "We gotta deal with what's in front of us."**

Raven hummed in approval before drinking her wine. This Jaune seems more competent than the one who is friends with her daughter.

**Pyrrha approaches Jaune. "Jaune, you know those two wouldn't survive a day in Whitefall anyway." She tells him and he doesn't look at her even she when she standing next to him. "You throw them out, I'm leaving too." She says voice firm and Jaune looks at her.**

**After a minute of silence Jaune speaks. "It might be best you do. You ain't a part of this business." He tells her before he leaves the dining area and a stunned Pyrrha. Walking away Jaune sighs and shakes his head before turning a corner.**

"**What business is that exactly?" Whitley asks stopping Jaune in his tracks. Turning to face him, Jaune doesn't answer. "I'm a dead man. I can't know?" He shrugs his shoulders before approaching. "Is it gold? Drugs, Pirate treasure?" **

"**What is it that makes you so afraid of Atlas?"**

"Bad idea." Ghira said and everyone agreed with the panther Faunus already seeing the outcome.

**Jaune shakes his head as he walks toward Whitley. "You don't want to go down this road with me, boy." He warns him as the two face each other.**

"**Oh, you're not afraid of them?" Whitley asks not taking the warning to heart. "I already know you'd sell me out to the them for a pat on the head." He says slowly getting on Jaune's nerves. "Hell, you should probably be working for them. You certainly fit the profi—"**

**Jaune punches Whitley once again knocking to the ground, Jaune leaves Whitley behind as he wipes the blood from his nose.**

"**Saw that comin'." Cardin says with a smile leaning against the door with his cup.**

"Who didn't?" Yang asked sarcastically and no one answered.

**Inside one of the passenger cells Jaune and Cardin are with Dobson. Reaching to the tape on Dobson's mouth Jaune grabs the tape and quickly rips it off, Dobson spits on the ground while Jaune walks away.**

Everyone cringed the moment when Jaune ripped the duct tape off and surprised that duct tape survived well into the future.

"**I'm in a tricky position. I guess you know." Jaune says rolling the tape into a ball and tossing it into the trash while standing next to Cardin. "Got me a boatload of terribly strange folk makin' my life a little more interesting… than I generally like."**

**Dobson doesn't say anything and looks to the ground. "Chief among them an Atlas mole—likes to shoot at girls when he's nervous." Jaune said looking to Cardin before approaching Dobson. "Now I gotta know how close Atlas is… exactly how much you told them before Tai scrambled your call."**

"**So… I've given Cardin here the job of finding out." Jaune says walking back to Cardin who draws a bowie knife.**

"**He was nonspecific as to how." Cardin says amused.**

**Jaune turns to Cardin. "Now you're only gonna scare him." He whispers.**

"**Pain is scary."**

"**Just do it right." Jaune says before leaving and closing the door behind him leaving Cardin alone with Dobson. Cardin approaches slowly with a grin on his face.**

RWBY and JNPR felt uncomfortable with the concept of torture. The rest of group knew that torture is still present in the kingdoms.

The parents hoped that their children never learn that ugly truth but they knew they had to let them learn the truth themselves and not be coddled anymore. Which is easier said than done for them.

"**You have an idea how much trouble you're in?" Dobson asks as Cardin sits in front of him.**

"**Gee, I never been in trouble with the law before."**

"**No, not like this you haven't. You think this is just a smuggling rap?" Dobson asks once again. "The package that boy is carrying—"**

"**It's a girl." Cardin says shutting Dobson up. "She's cute too. Except I don't think she's all there, you know." He makes the crazy motion sign with his knife. "Course, not all of her has to be."**

"Ew, that's just—ew." Weiss said feeling dirty at what Cardin is saying.

"Who is this Cardin?" Winter asked her sister while cracking her knuckles.

"**That girl is a precious commodity." Dobson says. "They'll come after her. Long after you bury me, they'll be coming." He tells Cardin who laughs.**

"**Oh, I'm not gonna kill you, Dobson." Cardin slaps his leg with the flat portion of the knife. "What's your first name?" He asks pointing the knife at Dobson.**

**Dobson thinks a second. "Lawrence." He answers.**

"**Lawrence. Ah." Cardin says amused. "I'm just gonna cut on you till you tell me how much they know." He tells Dobson politely.**

"**They know everything." He tells Cardin not wanting to get cut. "They know every name, every record. They know how many… nose hairs you've got."**

"He's a terrible liar." James said not impressed at the man's lying skills and disappointed since the man is an agent of Atlas.

"He's even worse than you, Qrow." Tai told his friend who just smiled at him before drinking again.

Summer leaned closer to Tai. "Remember that time he said 'he's visiting family'?"

Tai chuckled at the memory when Qrow said he was visiting family for the weekend, even though he told them that his only family is Raven.

**Cardin raises his eyebrows before getting to his feet. "Aw, see? They don't know a damn thing. It's all over your face. I ain't even—" Waving the knife in front of him. "I was gonna get me an ear too." He says disappointed.**

"**Aren't you an officer of the law?" He asks. "Well, don't they teach you how to withstand interrogation?" He asks again as Dobson looks away. "You can't even tell a damn lie."**

"**Okay. I can see you're not an idiot."**

"Debatable." Velvet and Coco said at the same time. Jaune frowned at what they said as he didn't believe the mace wielding ginger to be a bad person, only raised to be so by a man full of hate.

Jaune looked to the rest of his class and saw that they all agreed with Velvet and Coco. They'd already written off Cardin as nothing more than a strength obsessed idiot.

"**Wish I could say the same, Lawrence, but this is disappointing as hell." Cardin says once again sounding disappointed and shrugs.**

**Dobson keeps his head down as he looks at the knife in Cardin's hand. "Let me speak a language you will understand—money." Cardin doesn't reply and listens to what Dobson is saying. "This girl is worth a lot of money. I mean a lot."**

"**Now, you kill me, there's nothing." Dobson says still with his head down. "But if you help me out… you'll have enough to buy your own ship." He looks up to Cardin. "Better one than this piece of crap."**

**Cardin considers it. "Does helping you out mean turning on the Captain?"**

"**Yes, it does."**

"Oh no." Ruby said once again concerned.

"The bastard better not." Yang added feeling her anger rise at the mention of betrayal.

"I'll break his legs if he does betray Jaune – Jaune." Nora promised with her fist raised.

The Arc family are proud to see their son/family having such loyal friends.

**Jaune is called the bridge by Tai shortly after leaving the passenger cell. "How the hell'd they find us? I thought you said we could get around them." He says upon entering the bridge and goes to Tai.**

"**It's not Atlas." Tai says typing in commands as Jaune leans on the console.**

"**You sure?"**

**Tai looks at the screen. "Nah, it's a smaller vessel."**

"**Commercial?" Jaune asks.**

**Tai looks at a different screen. "I read it as an older model… Tans-U."**

"**I didn't think Trans-U still operated."**

"**They don't." **

**Jaune scratches his nose. "Get me a visual."**

"**They're still too far out." **

"**Get me somethin'." Jaune says getting off the console while Tai moves to a different console and hits a switch.**

"**I'm picking up a lot a radiation." Tai says which doesn't make sense so Jaune goes around the console and looks at the screen with Tai. "They're operating without core containment. That's—that's suicide." He says looking away from the screen to Jaune.**

**Realization dawns on Jaune as he walks away from the screen and to the middle of the bridge. There's only thing that flies around without core containment. "Reavers." He says looking out the bridge windows to see a ship slowly approaching them.**

"What's so scary about a Reaver?" Yang asked wondering what makes them so terrifying that even the mention of them is enough to make Jaune of this universe nervous.

"If you keep quiet then maybe we'll find out." Weiss scolded Yang who just shrugged in response.

Tai is reminded of Raven who just like Yang kept asking questions during movies whenever the team went out for a team outing to the movie theater.

**Reavers ships are unique in design and appearance, they salvage any ships they raid and retrofit them to suit their needs. The only way to determine if a ship is a Reavers ship is by the large spikes that jut out of the hulls and their black paint.**

"**Oh, Gods." Tai says seeing the ship. "Oh, Gods. Oh, Gods."**

"That is scary." Ruby said growing scared at the sight of the Reaver ship.

**Port is in the infirmary with his book saying a quick prayer for Ruby and Weiss who are both sleeping.**

"_**This is the Captain. We're passing another ship."**_

**Cardin is in his cabin thinking on what the fed told him.**

"_**Looks to be Reavers. From the size, probably a raiding party."**_

**Sienna is waiting for Whitley in the passenger quarters. When she hears the announcement she pales and Whitley emerges from his room.**

"_**Could be they're heading somewhere particular."**_

**Pyrrha sits on her bed and looking at the intercom with disbelief.**

"_**Could be they already hit someone and they're full up. So everyone stay calm."**_

**Cardin goes to his bed and removes a sheet next to his bed to reveal many guns of different makes and models.**

Ruby doesn't have time to admire all the guns because she is caught up in the announcement

"_**We try to run; they'll have to chase us. it's their way."**_

**In the bridge Tai is at the helm keeping an eye on the Reaver ship while Jaune address the crew.**

"_**We're holding course. We should be passing them in a minute. So, we'll see what they do."**_

**Jaune presses the intercom switch. "Sienna, you come on up to the bridge." He says before shutting off the intercom.**

**Sienna is heading up to the bridge when Whitley stops her.**

"**Uh, I don't understand." He said stopping at the foot of the stairs.**

**Sienna turns and faces him. "You never heard of Reavers?"**

"**Uh—campfire stories—men gone savage on the edge of space, killing—"**

"**They're not stories."**

"**What happens if they board us?" Whitley asks fearing for Weiss.**

**Sienna sighs and tells him the truth. "If they take the ship, they'll rape us to death… eat our flesh and sew out skins into their clothing. And if we're very, very lucky, they'll do it in that order." She says before heading to the bridge.**

"Gods…" Glynda said horrified at what the Reavers do their prisoners.

Even Raven is horrified at what the Reavers do. She may lead a clan of Bandits that raid settlements and kill, but she draws the line at rape and anyone who breaks that rule is _dealt _with lethally.

Ozpin sets his mug down and tries to ignore the memories of his past where he witnessed how savage man can be compared to the Grimm and he hopes that his students don't ever have to see such a horrifying sight.

The students of Beacon feel queasy at what Sienna described and hope that they won't have to see such a thing.

**Whitley goes to the infirmary and sees Port saying a quiet prayer, he doesn't interrupt as he goes over to Weiss.**

**Outside **_**Serenity **_**and the Reaver ship approach each other, the size of the Reaver ship easily dwarves the Firefly class ship. The Reaver ship is menacing in appearance as the lower half of the nose of the ship has been cut away to make room for the gun turret. The cut away sections of the ship make it look like a snake with its mouth open. To the side of the ship is a pod that has electricity sparking from it.**

No one says anything as they watch the screen hoping that Jaune and his crew don't have to fight the Reavers.

**Pyrrha reaches behind her book shelf and removes a small rectangular box, opening the box to revel a single syringe and a vail of black liquid. She will wait for the news that they've boarded before she uses it. Meanwhile Cardin is holding a grenade launcher that has been modified to shoot non explosive rounds. He is loading a tipped shell into the grenade launcher and waits.**

**Sienna finally makes it to the bridge and goes to Tai, she places her hand on his shoulder and he holds it. They look out the windows to see the Reaver ship passing them.**

**Tai sees the pod. "There's their magnetic grappler." He says pointing to the pod. "They get a hold of us with that—"**

"**Just tell me if they alter course." Jaune says not taking his eyes off the ship.**

_**Serernity **_**passes under the Reaver ship as it continues to fly through space.**

**Tai keeps an eye on the screen. "They're holding course." He tells the others and everyone sighs with relief. "I guess they weren't hungry." Tai said leaning back in his chair. "Didn't expect to see them here."**

"**They're pushing out every year too." Sienna says looking out the windows.**

**Jaune sighs. "Getting' awful crowded in my sky."**

Everyone in the audience sigh with relief and relax into their seats. Yang holds onto Ruby to comfort her and Tai does the same with Summer.

**Inside the infirmary Jaune is looking at Weiss sleeping wondering what is so special about her that Atlas wants her back.**

"**Hey, Captain." Ruby says finally waking up.**

**Jaune turns around. "Hey. Hello, Ruby. What's the news?" He asks walking over and stands next to her bed.**

"**I'm shiny, Captain. A-Okay." She says dreamily as the pain killers are doing their job. Jaune smiles at her. "I can't feel much below my belly though." Ruby frowns slightly. "It's gettin' cold."**

**Jaune's mouth twitches and he looks away. "Well, you just gotta rest." He grabs a spare blanket. "Something's gonna break down on this boat real soon." He says unfolding the blanket. "Who else I got to fit it?"**

"**Oh, don't you worry none." Ruby said sound tired as Jaune placed the blanket on her. "Doc fixed me up pretty up. He's nice." She says through half closed eyes.**

**Jaune looks at Ruby and smiles sadly. "Don't go workin' too hard on that crush, **_**mei-mei**_**. Doc won't be with us for long."**

**Ruby smiles at Jaune. "You're nice too."**

**Jaune smirks. "No, I'm not." He says breaking into a full smile. "I'm a mean old man."**

"Same here, son." Leon said while his wife frowns and playfully smacks his arm. Everyone smiles at the interaction making them forget about the Reavers.

"**He wasn't gonna let me die. He was just trying to—" Jaune doesn't say anything. "It's nobody's fault." She tells him grabbing his hand and holds it. "Okay. Just promise me you're gonna remember that."**

**Jaune holds her hands in his both of his. "I'll keep it in mind."**

"**You are a nice man, Captain." Ruby tells him her eyes getting heavier. "You're always looking after us." Jaune listens to her. "You just gotta have faith in people." **

**Ruby looks over to Weiss who is still sleeping. "She's a real beauty, isn't she?" Ruby smiles before dropping it and closes her eyes, her hand falls from Jaune's.**

"No!" Yang, Tai and Summer shout at the implication that Ruby has died. Ruby is shocked to see herself die.

Qrow tightens his grip on the glass in his hand that cracks appear.

**In Pyrrha's shuttle she is handing over two silver packages to Whitley. "It's just the standard Companion immunization package."**

"**Thank you." He says taking them and looking them over.**

"**I'm sure if it'll help in this—"**

"**It won't hurt." Whitley says looking at the packages. "Supplies down there are pretty rudimentary."**

"**Is there anything else I can do?" Pyrrha asks.**

"**I don't think so, but I appreciate it." **

"**Ruby's very dear… to all of us." Pyrrha tells Whitley just before he leaves.**

**Whitley turns around. "I—I'm sorry." He says and Pyrrha looks confused. "For my part in what happened." He then approaches her. "I—I've never—I mean, I—I don't know how to—"**

"**You're lost in the woods." Pyrrha says seeing his internal dilemma. "We all are. Even the Captain." She says. "The only difference is he likes it that way."**

"Wise words, Miss Nikos." Ozpin told the spartan.

"Sounds like Raven." Qrow said pointing to his sister who just ignored him.

Yang looked to her partner who is deep in thought at what Pyrrha said. She is indeed alone in the woods but she is no longer alone thanks to the bonds she formed with her team and JNPR.

"**No, the only difference is the woods are the only place I can see a clear path." Jaune says entering the shuttle. "What's your business here?" He asks Whitley.**

Both Glynda and Raven looked at Ozpin when Jaune said that he can see a clear path from the woods. The statement is true since Ozpin rarely leaves Beacon tower except for emergencies or when something catches his attention like when Glynda reported that Ruby Rose had gotten in an altercation with Roman Torchwick.

"**It's my business." Pyrrha said getting Jaune's attention. "The usual. I gave the boy a free thrust since he's not long for this world." She says as Jaune's gaze goes to Whitley who looks nervous. "What are you doing in my shuttle?" She asks as Whitley leaves.**

"**It's my shuttle. You rent it." Jaune tells her.**

"**Then when I'm behind on the rent, you can enter unasked."**

"**I thought you were leaving anyhow." Jaune said shifting his feet.**

"**Well, I guess that depends on you." Pyrrha tells him before he leaves the shuttle leaving her alone with her thoughts.**

**Jaune enters the walkway overlooking the cargo bay. "You'll ruin her too, you know." He calls out to Whitley who stops in his tracks and turns around.**

"**This is the thing I see you're uncomprehending on." Jaune tells Whitley as he approaches him and two meet in the middle of the cat walk. "Everyone on this ship… even a legitimate businesswoman like her… their lives can be snatched away because of that fed."**

"He cares…" Pyrrha whispered to herself too low to be heard by anyone. Her heart picking up when she noticed that he cares for her.

"**You got a solution for that? You got a way around?" **

"**I don't." Whitley admits.**

"**Comes time, someone's gonna have to deal with him." Jaune says placing a hand on the guard rail. "That should be you. But I don't think you got the guts. And I know you don't have the time."**

"**What do you mean?" Whitley asks confused.**

**Jaune takes a deep breath. "Ruby's dead." He says his voice breaking slightly. Jaune leaves a shocked Whitley behind as he heads back to the bridge. Whitley runs back to the infirmary to see for himself and sees Ruby talking with Port. Ruby waves at him when she notices him and he returns the wave before looking to the direction of the bridge.**

"What?" RWBY, JNPR, Tai, Summer, and Qrow say dumbfounded by the sight of Ruby still alive and happy. Everyone else is just confused as to why Jaune lied about Ruby being dead.

"**The man's psychotic." Whitley says out of breath.**

**Inside the bridge Jaune, Sienna, Cardin and Tai are laughing hard. "You are psychotic." Tai tells Jaune in between laughs.**

**The laughter dies down to chuckles. "No, you should've seen his face." Jaune says wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh, I'm a bad man." He says as he crosses his arms.**

"I fail to see how that is funny." Penny said tilting her head to the side in confusion.

"Some people have different tastes in humor than others." Blake said looking to the resident self-proclaimed pun master.

"What?" Yang asks.

"**And Ruby's really okay?" Sienna asks holding up her hand.**

"**Yeah." Jaune says with a smile. "To tell the truth, I didn't expect her to heal this quick." He tells her. "Doctor knows his trade; I'll give him that." A beeping from the console behind Tai.**

"**Being hailed." Tai said turning his chair to face the console.**

"**That'd be Raven." Jaune said looking over Tai's shoulder. "We're close enough for vid. Put her up." Tai gets out of his chair and allows Jaune to take a seat, pressing the screen and hitting a switch the screen comes to life displaying a woman.**

"_**Jaune Arc?"**_

"**Hello, Raven." Jaune says leaning the chair.**

"_**I have to say, I didn't look to be hearin' from you anytime."**_

**Jaune sighs. "Well, we may not have parted on the best of terms." He says carefully. "I realize certain words were exchanged. Also, certain bullets." Raven listens patiently. 'But that's air through the engine. It's past." Sienna looks away at Jaune's attempt to butter Raven up.**

"Does he really think that will work on me?" Raven asks crossing her legs which catches Tai attention as he looks at her creamy legs. Looking away Tai focuses back on the screen.

"**We're businesspeople. Besides, your days of fighting over salvage rights are long behind you, what I hear. What are you, mayor now?"**

"_**Just about." **_**Raven says. **_**"You tellin' the truth about that cargo?" **_**She asks and Jaune nods. **_**"Cause your asking price is a bit too reasonable for that much treasure."**_

"**It's imprinted—Atlas—hence the discount."**

"_**Oh, government goods, huh?"**_

"**That doesn't work for you, no harm." Jaune tells her. "Just thought you could use—"**

"_**Atlas don't scare me." **_**Raven declares looking off screen for a moment. **_**"Just collatin' data, as they say. I like that you're up front about it. We can deal." **_**She said after a pause and Jaune smiles.**

"_**I'll upload coordinates for the rendezvous point outside town." **_

**Tai tilts his head as he listens in. "See you in the world." Jaune said before turning off the screen and smiles slightly.**

"**I believe that woman's plannin' to shoot me again before he leaves the seat.**

"What an excellent observation, friend Jaune." Penny said cheerfully which gave everyone pause.

"Sounds like something Raven would do." Summer said once again remembering their time in Beacon. Raven wasn't liking anyone of the finger pointing that is aimed at her.

"**She meant to pay you, she'd have haggled you down some." Cardin said.**

**Tai retakes his seat. "Just a little effort to hid it would've been—"**

**Jaune knocks an empty tray off the console as he passes it and takes deep breath, Sienna comes up behind him.**

"**Sir, we don't have to deal with her." She says.**

"**Yes, we do." Jaune tells her over his shoulder.**

"**Here's a little concept I been workin' on—why don't we shoot her first?" Cardin asks leaning against the wall.**

"**It **_**is **_**her turn." Tai agrees with Cardin.**

"Would be nice to see Raven taken down a peg." Qrow said and Raven responded by throwing her wine glass at him. The glass stopped a couple of inches from Qrow's head surrounded in a pale blue glow that flew back at Raven with blinding speed hitting her in the face knocking her over.

Yang tried her best to stifle her laughter but failed and laughed to her hearts contents. Even Qrow chuckled at the sight of his sister with wine dripping from her hair.

Spart floated down in front of Raven. "No altercations are permitted in the theater. If you need to work out your anger. Then do it in the training room." The floating orb told Raven before floating back to his spot.

"**That doesn't get us what we need either." Jaune says looking out the bridge windows.**

**Sienna crosses her arms. "There's moons we ain't seen. We could try our luck—"**

"**Our luck?" Jaune says with a raised voice as he turns around to face Sienna. "You notice anything particular about our luck these past few day?" He asks again and Sienna remains silent. "Any kind of pattern?"**

**Jaune looks to his crew. "You depend on luck, you end up on the drift—no fuel, no prospects… beggin' for Atlas make-up, getting' towed out to the scrap belt. That ain't us." He says with determination. "Not ever… Raven has got money to pay… and she will, one way or another."**

"**There's obstacles in our path, and we're gonna deal with 'em one by one. We'll get through this. We will." Jaune tells them. Meanwhile Dobson is cutting away the tape binding his hands with a small knife.**

"Oh no." Blake said worried at what is coming.

"I wonder where he got the knife." Neptune said and everyone thought of Cardin and what Dobson told him of making more money than what Jaune offered him.

**Above the planet of Whitefall**_** Serenity **_**enters the planet's atmosphere and lands a couple of miles away from the meeting point with Raven. Inside the cargo hold Jaune puts on his brown signature brown jacket and talks with Tai and Sienna while Cardin drives the ATV with the stolen goods strapped to the trailer out of the ship. Soon Jaune and Sienna are ready to go and head to the rendezvous that Raven mentioned.**

"**Nice place for an ambush." Sienna states the obvious as they arrive at the meeting location which happens to be in the middle of a small valley.**

"**That it is." Jaune agrees as they stop on a small hill that gives a good view of the valley. Cardin runs up to them.**

"**Here you are." Cardin hands the copper bar taken from the stolen crates to Jaune. "I buried 'em good." He tells Jaune in between pants. "Equipment's back on the boat." Cardin says before putting an ear piece in his ear.**

"**Testing. Testing, Captain, can you hear me?" Cardin asks testing the ear piece.**

"He's standing beside you." Sun said surprised that Cardin didn't notice this right away.

Velvet laughed at what is happening on screen.

"**I'm standing right here." Jaune says continuing to exam the layout of the valley.**

**Cardin catches his breath and holds a finger to his ear. "You're comin' through good and loud."**

"Really?" Coco said lowering her sunglasses and looking at the screen. A statement that is shared by the students of Beacon and some of the staff.

**Jaune looks to Cardin. "Cause I'm standing right here."**

"**Yeah, well, but… the transmitter's—" Cardin says pointing to the ear piece but Jaune ignores him and Sienna smiles.**

**Jaune steps forward. "Raven is going to figure we buried the cargo… which means puttin' us to our ease before there's any action." He stops and points with the copper brick. "She'll come at us from the east… talk the location out of us. She'll have the coin to show us first." He tells Sienna and Cardin.**

"**We get it, give the location." Jaune then points to two hills that overlook the valley. "Snipers hit us from there… and there."**

"A sound strategy and amazing tactical knowledge for noticing it." James said looking to their Jaune in the audience and wonders how good he would be in the military with his strategic mind.

"Mr. Arc has a mind for strategies and outmaneuvering his opponents." Ozpin said with pride for his student.

**Cardin looks at the locations pointed out. "You figure they're in place yet?" He asks.**

"**Should be." Jaune then looks to Cardin. "Feel like takin' a walk around the park?"**

"**Sure you don't just want to piss yourself and back down like you did with Roman?"**

**Jaune looks at Cardin for a moment. "Walk soft. I want Raven thinkin' they're still in place." He tells Cardin who takes off. "Don't kill anyone if you don't have to. We're here to make a deal." He yells to Cardin.**

**Sienna looks over the valley. "Don't think it's a good spot, sir. She still has the advantage over us."**

"**Everyone always does." Jaune said. "That's what makes us special." He tells Sienna looking to her with a charming smile.**

All the girls that have a crush on the blonde knight blush at the sight of his charming smile that makes their hearts race.

Emilia saw this and smiled already imaging the many grandchildren that her son will give her. She's done with raising babies and wants to spoil her grandchildren which is why Adrian is spoiled whenever Saphron and her wife come to visit.

**Inside the passenger area Port is heading for Dobson's cell and checks to make sure no one is around. "Officer. it's Shepard Port." He says outside the room, when he doesn't get an answer he opens the door. "I believe you're in more danger—" **

**Before he fully opens the door Dobson hits him with a small canister knocking him back. Dobson kneels next to the Port and hits him in the head two more times with a scowl on his face. He takes Port and puts him in his room.**

"It'll take a lot more than a bump on the head to bring me down." Port said appalled that his on screen counterpart is taken out so easily.

Qrow remembered the time he got ambushed in a similar manner when he was drunk and followed a lead that turned out to be trap. Shaking his head to chase the memories away.

**Jaune and Sienna are walking on the valley floor just as Raven and her small group arrive on horseback except for one who is driving an ATV. Raven is wearing a black cowboy hat and duster, along with a blood red outfit underneath. "Ah. Jaune." She says with a small laugh.**

Raven admired how she looked in the duster that she considered incorporating into her own wardrobe but disregarded the idea. She liked her current outfit as it didn't hinder her movement and showed off her legs. A duster would hinder her movements and make it difficult for her to fight in, sure she could adapt to it but it would take too long.

"**How you doin', boy?" Raven asks with an inviting smile.**

**Jaune and Sienna stop a few feet from Raven and her men. "Walkin' and talkin'." He says placing his hands on the gun belt.**

**Raven looks over to Sienna. "Is that Sienna? You still sailin' with this old bum?" She asks.**

**Sienna looks at the men with Raven. "Awful lot of men to haul three crates."**

"**Yeah, well, I couldn't be sure my Jaune here wouldn't be lookin' for some kind of payback." Raven says from on top her horse. "You understand."**

"**We're just on the job, Raven." Jaune tells her with a shrug. "Not interested in surprises."**

**Meanwhile a sniper is waiting for the signal for Raven when he is dragged away from the rifle and is knocked unconscious by Cardin who lays down and takes the sniper rifle. He aims the crosshairs at Jaune and smiles.**

"That backstabbing piece of shite." Velvet said in a different accent surprising everyone who knew the shy Faunus.

Saphron covered her son's ears.

Coco laughed and patted Velvet's back. "That's my girl."

**In the passenger area Dobson enters the luggage area and grabs his bag. Opening his bag, he grabs a scroll and opens it trying to call Atlas. But the call doesn't go through due to an outside interference, he growls in frustration and throws the scroll against the breaking it. Digging further into his bag he retrieves his back up weapon and tucks it under his shirt and into his belt before he pulls out a second gun and goes to complete his mission.**

"Why didn't they search is bags? Honestly if I we—" Weiss was cut off by Yang placing a finger on her mouth silencing her.

"Shhh, this is getting good." Yang said after Weiss pushes her finger away and huffs before watching the screen again.

**Back with Jaune and the others, Raven looks around. "I don't see my cargo anywhere." **

"**And you're not gonna till I'm holdin' 200 in platinum." Jaune tells her.**

**Raven scoffs. "Oh, come on, Arc. I'm supposed to take it on faith that you got the goods?" Jaune opens his coat to show his gun on his leg and the copper brick in his pocket. He takes the brick and shows it to Raven before tossing it to to one of her men. The man catches the brick and hands it to Raven.**

"I wonder what value copper holds in this universe." Ren said looking at the copper brick in Raven's hand.

"Maybe we should start hoarding copper, Renny." Nora said excitedly at the prospect of making it rich by getting a monopoly on the copper market. "We'll be the richest Hunters in Remnant." She proudly declared."

"**It's pure, Raven." Jaune tells her as she opens up one end of the brick. "Genuine "A" grade foodstuffs—protein, vitamins… immunization supplements." Raven pulls the copper wrapping down to reveal a light brown brick and takes a small bite. "One of those would feed a family for a month. Longer, if they don't like their kids too well."**

"Did not expect that." Sun said.

"Yeah." Neptune agreed with his team leader. He thought that copper is worth the same as dust but was sadly mistaken.

"**Yep. That's the stuff." Raven says after swallowing and hands the brick to one of her men who takes it. Raven reaches into her coat and takes out a small bag and throws it to Jaune who catches it. "so where's the rest?"**

**Back with **_**Serenity **_**Weiss wakes up from her slumber and looks around. "Whitley?" She says.**

"**What's wrong, sweetie?" Ruby asks from her bed. Weiss doesn't answer as she goes to the entryway and steps outside where she is grabbed by Dobson.**

"**Look at you, all woke up." He said as he puts the gun to her head before grabbing his backup and aims it at Ruby. "Oh, I'm sorry about what happened before, but make so much as a sound… the next one goes through your throat." Dobson warns before leaving with Weiss.**

"Threating civilians. Proud agent of Atlas." Qrow spoke with disdain evident in his tone at the sight of Dobson threating his niece.

James remained silent as he watched disappointed in Dobson's behavior as he is willing to shoot a hospitalized girl. He understands the need to complete his mission but there are some lines that you don't cross.

"**And east half a mile, bottom of the first hill you'll see where it's been dug." Jaune tells Raven's group after checking the money to see if it's there.**

**Raven nods. "I reckon I will." She says and the two face each other.**

"**Well, then." Jaune says looking to Raven's group waiting for them to leave.**

"**Yep."**

**Jaune looks at her group. "I'd appreciate it if you all turn around and ride out first."**

"**Well, you see, there's a kinda hitch." Raven tells Jaune.**

"**We both made out on this deal." Jaune tells her. "Don't complicate things."**

"**I got a rule." Raven says. "I never let go of money I don't have to." Sienna looks at her not surprised. "Which is maybe why I'm runnin' this little world… and you're still on that dinky old boat sniffin' for scraps."**

"Man, does everyone in this universe have it in for Jaune." Yang asked remembering how Roman back out of their deal, Ruby getting shot, Atlas after them for taking in Whitley and now Raven pulls a Roman.

"I believe the term is 'having a stroke of bad luck'." Penny said drinking some apple cider tea.

"Hopefully that ends soon." Ruby said

**Jaune reaches into his jacket and pulls out the bag of coins and tosses it back to Raven who tucks it back into her duster. "Got the money back. There's no need for killin'."**

"**We're just gonna walk away, sir?" Sienna asks keeping her eyes on Raven.**

"**Guess that's up to Raven, here." Jaune says relaxed. "Could be messy."**

"**Not terribly." Raven smirks. "Jaune, you just ain't very bright, are ya?" She mocks while laughing.**

**Jaune steps forward. "That's quite a rifle." He says noticing a well-made rifle in the hands of the man next to Raven. "Boy must be your best shot to carry that."**

**Sienna keeps her hand on her gun belt right next to her pistol knowing that Jaune is about to act.**

"**Called "Two-Fry". Always makes it quick and clean." Raven says with pride.**

"**Two-Fry. Nice hat." Jaune says as Two-Fry smirks before his top hat gets blown off by Cardin who gets the signal. Raven looks to the hill where her sniper is at while Two-Fry falls off his horse. Jaune and Sienna draw their weapons while Raven and her men are distracted and open fire. **

"Smart, taking advantage of the confusion." Sienna said impressed that Jaune is able to turn the tables on Raven and her men. Ilia is also impressed since she herself has used ambush and surprised attacks to confuse Atlas soldiers.

**Jaune and Sienna manage to kill three of Raven's men in the surprise attack, one of Raven's men shoots Sienna in the chest with a shotgun knocking her back. Jaune sees this and shoots the man who shot Sienna.**

"Idiot." Sienna scolded her on screen self for standing still like an idiot instead of moving, making herself a harder target to hit.

Ilia looked to Sienna worried that seeing herself get shot on screen might make her lash out. Surprisingly the tiger Faunus didn't and instead chose to seethe in silence making Ilia nervous.

Emilia grabbed Leon's hand and tightly squeezed that his aura flared to protect him but even that wasn't enough against the strength of the Arc matriarch as his aura shattered.

**Tai and Whitley are on the bridge and talking amongst themselves. "Should think about asking the Captain to drop you somewhere else." He tells Whitley as he props his foot on the console. "Whitefall ain't exactly civilization in the strictest sense."**

"**You don't have to worry about me." Whitley tells Tai.**

"**Well, Sienna's out on a deal. I always worry." Tai tells him. "So, it's not out of my way." The intercom comes to life.**

"_**He took her. He took Weiss." **_**Ruby says over the bridge intercom. Whitley runs out of the bridge fearing for his sister's life. Tai joins him but stops when an alarm goes off on a console, going to the console Tai looks at the screen.**

"**Oh, don't—don't you dare."**

"What now?" Weiss asked wondering what else could go wrong for Jaune and his crew.

"Most likely scenario would be that Raven has sent men to attack _Serenity _and hold the crew hostage as a bargaining chip against friend Jaune." Penny said in her usual cheery tone.

"Sounds like something I would do." Raven said.

**Jaune is shooting and moving to avoid getting shot while Cardin provides sniper fire, Raven is trying to get orders to her men who don't listen.**

**Back with **_**Serenity **_**Dobson is keeping Weiss close to him as he enters the cargo hold and goes to the command console and presses the open button, the inner doors slowly open. Whitley looks at the scene and jumps over the railing on the catwalk above Dobson and knocks him over, knocking him out and himself. Weiss as he backs away fearfully.**

"You can do it." Willow said silently rooting for her son trying to protect his sister. Winter and Weiss are also rooting for their brother.

**Back with Jaune, the shootout continues as Raven stops giving orders and reaches for her shotgun while trying to keep her horse calm. Sienna groans as she reaches for her rifle and lifts it, shooting a man trying to ride away from the shootout. Raven gets off her horse and uses it for cover as she balances her weapon on the saddle. Jaune gets shot in his left upper arm, grunting in pain he shoots the man who shot him in the leg making him fall over and holds his leg in pain.**

**Jaune hisses in pain as he looks at his arm. "Sienna?"**

**Sienna groans before she tears open her shirt to reveal an armored vest. "Armor's dented." She says looking at the vest.**

"**Well, you're right about this being a bad idea." Jaune tells her while shaking his arm.**

"Understatement if there ever was one." Yang said shaking her head at on screen Jaune.

Leon flexed his hand after Emilia let go and regained feeling in his fingers. He loved Emilia but she could be extremely protective of their children. How some of them convinced her to let them pursue the path of a Huntress evaded him as he wanted to know the secret.

"**Thanks for sayin', sir." Sienna said while picking out the buckshot from her vest.**

"At least I'm ok." Sienna said relieved that she survived and not dead because Jaune didn't take Raven seriously.

"**Jaune, don't you take another step!" Raven shouts from behind her horse aiming her shotgun at him. Jaune just sighs and shoots the horse causing it to fall on Raven pinning her to the ground. Checking his arm again he marches over to Raven and points the gun at Raven who holds up her hands.**

Qrow opened his mouth to say something to Raven but stopped when Summer gave him her "look" effectively shutting him up.

Raven nodded her head in thanks to Summer who didn't react and instead focused back on the screen and held Tai's hand. This irked Raven, she saw Summer as a sister when they were a team and now she ignored her. Raven knew the reason why and soon she would have to have a talk with her former teammate and leader. She's not looking forward to that conversation.

Yang felt conflicted, on one she's happy that Jaune managed to get the upper hand on Raven and on the other hand. She's worried for her mother. She nibbled her lower lip which is a sign that she's nervous, a trait that she inherited from Raven along with her figure.

**Jaune cocks his pistol as a warning to Raven to not try anything. "Now I did a job. I ain't got nothing but trouble since I did it… not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character." **

"**So let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job…" Jaune takes the coin bag from Raven. "And then I get paid." He pockets the money and holsters his gun. "Go run your little world." He tells her before leaving and heads back to Sienna who stands up and holsters her weapon.**

"**Jaune, it's Tai!" Cardin shouts as he runs down the hill and holds up the radio. "We got a ship coming in! They followed us! The **_**gorram **_**Reavers followed us!" He shouts in fear.**

"Oh no." Ruby said playing with her hood cape. A habit that she developed to calm her nerves.

"They just can't catch a break can they." Sun said

**The Reaver ship flies over the planet and shuts off its engine and flips upside down so the armored portion of the ship takes the brunt of the flames that are generated from reentry.**

"That's one way to make an entrance." Kali said sharing a bowl of popcorn with Ghira.

**Dobson groans as he wakes up rolls onto his stomach and crawls towards his weapon. Whitley stops him from reaching the weapon and picks up only to be elbowed into the face by Dobson knocking him backwards towards some cargo. Dobson goes for his weapon as Whitley sees Dobson's back up weapon near his feet, grabbing the pistol he aims it at Dobson.**

"**No, don't!" Whitley shouts and Dobson stops. "Don't move."**

"_**Reavers! Reavers, incoming and heading straight for us. We are in the air in one minute." **_**Tai says over the intercom.**

"**I guess they got hungry again." Tai says while prepping the ship for takeoff.**

"Such a way with words." Summer giggled at Tai who shrugged in response. Raven scoffed and looked away slightly jealous.

**Inside the cargo hold Whitley keeps the pistol aimed at Dobson. "You can do that? You're gonna kill an officer in cold blood?" Dobson asks Whitley who doesn't answer. "I know what you did for your sister. I understand. It doesn't make you a killer." He tries to reason with Whitley who looks to Weiss hiding behind some cargo. Port stumbles into the cargo hold dazed and holds onto the door for support.**

"**I don't want to hurt anybody. I have a job to do—" Dobson says. "To uphold the law—that's what we're talking about here."**

"He has an excellent point." James said. "He's just doing his job, following orders."

"Who's right and who's wrong." Qrow said to no one in particular and that got the students thinking about what he said. Who is right and who is wrong? Who makes that choice? It gave the students the pause as they considered his words.

**The Reaver ship passes the atmosphere and the engines turn back on as the ship let out a screeching sound signaling that they are near. The ship flies to where **_**Serenity **_**is.**

**Tai is holding the radio in his hands as he looks at a screen. "Come on. Come on! Where the hell are you guys?" He yells into the radio getting nervous as the Reaver ship is slowly getting closer. **

**Jaune, Sienna and Cardin are riding horses that they stole from Raven after warning her of the incoming Reaver. They are riding as fast as they can without pushing the horses to hard and risk having them collapsing.**

"Can you ride a horse?" Weiss asked Jaune turning in her seat to face him.

"Yeah, my mom taught me." Jaune replied.

**Back inside the cargo hold Dobson once again tries to reason with Whitley. "There's nowhere you can take her the law won't find." Whitley looks to Weiss then back to Dobson. "Nobody is going to hurt her… unless you hurt me."**

"**No, I said!" Whitley shouts when Dobson reaches for the gun again. "I said don't—don't move."**

"**It's your call.**

**Whitley holds the gun with shaky hands, just then Jaune and his group arrive back at the ship and Whitley turns to the sound and Dobson uses the opportunity and grabs his gun and shoot at Whitley but misses. Whitley hides behind a crate while Dobson grabs Weiss and brings her out of hiding and holds her gun point. Pyrrha comes out of her shuttle to the see what's going on.**

Everyone wants to see what happens next. Especially the Schnee family since Whitley is their little brother/son and they want to see what happens to him.

**Jaune hears the gunshot and gets off the horse and heads into the cargo hold having an idea of what's going on.**

"**I'm not playing anymore. Anybody make so much—"**

**Jaune enters the cargo hold and sees Dobson holding Weiss at gunpoint, drawing his pistol as he walks he shoots Dobson in the head, holstering his pistol he walks over to Dobson's body and bends over to check if he's dead. Weiss whimpers as she backs away from the body and Whitley is still standing where he was shocked at the events. Both Pyrrha and Port witnessed Jaune shooting an Officer of Atlas.**

Everyone is shocked by Jaune killing Dobson even though they should have since he threatened him earlier.

"Impressive marksmanship." Oobleck said. "Though if Dobson had been moving and used Miss Schnee as a shield. He might still be alive."

"He's lucky that he didn't her by accident." Winter said relieved that her siblings are alright.

"Cardin seems way to happy to see Dobson dead." Velvet said slightly disturbed at his behavior.

**Both Sienna and Cardin run into the ship. "Cardin!" Jaune yells as he grabs Dobson's fleece and Cardin chuckles at the sight of Dobson as he goes to help Jaune.**

**Sienna heads to the intercom and hits the button for the bridge. "Tai, we're on!" She says before pressing the button for the doors to close while Whitley slowly approaches Weiss who screams when she sees the gun he's still holding. Jaune and Cardin carry Dobson's body to the ramp as it rises and toss the body out of the ship and run back inside just as the inner doors close.**

**Once everyone is back inside **_**Serenity **_**powers up and takes off flying away. **

**Jaune, Sienna and Cardin enter the bridge and run to Tai who is piloting the ship with grace.**

"**How close are they?" Jaune asks.**

"**About 20 seconds from spitting distance." Tai tells them looking out at the passing scenery.**

"**Well, lose 'em." Cardin says.**

"**Gimme the vid." Jaune tells Sienna, tuning on the rear camera to show the Reaver ship pursuing them and closing the distance.**

"**How close they need to be to fire those grapplers?" Jaune asks removing his jacket.**

"**Come on, Tai, you dumbass. Doge 'em!"**

"**If everyone could just be quiet a moment." Tai tells them with a calm voice as he pilots the ship into a small valley at high speeds and manages to avoid crashing. "I need Ruby in the engine room, please."**

"**Can she even—"**

"**Get her in there now." Jaune tells Cardin who leaves to fetch Ruby. Pyrrha is heading to the bridge. "I want you to get in your shuttle." Jaune tells her as exits the bridge. "Get the civilians and get ready to go."**

"**I can't just leave you here."**

"**Well, that was the plan."**

"**Jaune, don't do this."**

"**We get boarded, you take off." Jaune tells her looking her in the eyes. "Head for town. We might be able to stop them from following you."**

"**They'll kill you."**

"**Pyrrha—" Jaune places a hand on her shoulder, Pyrrha looks at Jaune. "Go." He tells her pushing her slightly before he heads back to the bridge as Pyrrha heads back to her shuttle, she looks over her shoulder at Jaune's retreating form.**

"Just kiss already!" Weiss shouted at the screen.

"Weiss, calm down." Yang said trying to get the white themed girl to calm down.

"No, Yang! I'm tired of them dancing around the issue!" Weiss yelled standing up drawing everyone's attention. Weiss turned around and pointed at Jaune. "Jaune! Pyrrha likes you. Why? I don't know and I can't figure it out." She then turned her attention to the red-haired spartan. "Pyrrha, you need to just tell him how you feel!" Weiss shouted at the two who blushed and looked away from each other after Weiss' rant.

Weiss took a deep breath to calm down and sat back down. Everyone is silent who knows the Heiress to be reserved.

"**How we doin'?" Jaune asks Tai standing next to him.**

"**I don't mean to alarm anybody… but I think we're being followed." He tells him.**

"Master of stating the obvious." Raven said crossing her legs and smirking slightly when Tai sneaked a peek at her legs.

**Cardin is carry Ruby out of the infirmary, Whitley is taking Weiss to his room in the passenger area as Pyrrha arrives. "You three, come with me." She tells Whitley, Weiss and Port.**

"**I think I can help Ruby out." Port says looking to Ruby in Cardin's arms.**

"**Should I—" Whitley asks before Port interrupts him.**

"**Take her. Keep her safe." Port tells him before going with Cardin while Pyrrha leads Weiss and Whitley to her shuttle.**

_**Serenity **_**flies out of the valley and into the clouds in an attempt to lose the Reaver ship pursuing. Exiting the clouds **_**Serenity **_**keeps low but the Reaver ship is still pursuing them.**

"**Can't keep this up. They get a bead, they're gonna lock us down." Jaune says to himself as he looks at the screen.**

"**Ruby, how we doin'?" Tai asks over the intercom. "Gonna need a little push here."**

"Come on, me. You can do it." Ruby cheered herself on.

Yang smiles at her sister knowing that she gets way too involved in movies of any genre. A trait that she inherited from her mother who is also a movie buff as well a Hunter.

**Cardin sets Ruby on the floor in the engine room with her back against the wall. "You want me to for full burn?" She asks trying to get comfortable.**

"_**Not just yet. But set it up."**_

"**You know where the press regulator is?" Ruby asks Port who holds up a finger and looks around before pointing to an engine component. "Head of the class."**

**Inside of Pyrrha's shuttle Weiss and Whitley are sitting in the passenger seats behind Pyrrha as she preps the shuttle. **_**"We're ready for full burn on your mark." **_**Ruby voice says over the intercom.**

**Back on the bridge Sienna is behind Tai as he pilots. "Full burn in atmo? That won't cause a blowback, burn us out?" She asks Jaune.**

"**Even if it doesn't, they can push just as hard, keep right on us." Jaune responds before a thought enters his mind. "Tai, you gotta give me an Ivan."**

"**I'll see what I can do." Tai says before turning on the intercom for the engine room. "Ruby, how would you feel about pullin' a Crazy Ivan?"**

"That sounds dangerous and fun!" Nora yelled grabbing Ren's arm. "Renny we should try it."

"Jaune is the team leader." Ren told the energetic girl and throwing his team leader under the bus.

"Jaune! We need to try a Crazy Ivan." Nora said turning to her crush and grabbing his arm. "It sounds fun and dangerous. We should do it!"

Jaune smiled nervously. "Sure…"

**In the engine room Ruby adjust her position on the floor. "Always wanted to try one." She responds before looking to Cardin. "Cardin, open the port jack control, cut the hydraulics." Ruby gestures with her head to the port jack control while Cardin goes to different part of the engine room and starts looking. Ruby sees this and points.**

"**Where the hell is—" Cardin said while looking for the port jack control.**

"**Look! Look!" Ruby yells getting his attention. "Look where I'm pointing." Cardin sees this and follows her pointing to a console. "Okay. Now it's real simple." She says as Cardin opens the port to reveal a mess of wires connected to circuit board and blinking lights along with colored wires connected to a green glowing object. Cardin sees this and looks back at Ruby with a **_**really**_** look.**

"Only you would find that simple." Yang told her sister.

"I'm sure it's simpler than it appears." Ruby replied looking at the mess of complex wiring and tried to trace a single wire but failed once it disappeared into the jumbled mess of wires.

"Looks like your underwear drawer." Leon whispered to his wife only to receive a painful jab in the ribs. Leon loved his wife but she is messy a trait that children inherited.

**A beeping sound alerts Sienna, looking to the screen she sees the Reaver ship powering up their magnetic grapplers. "They're on us!"**

"**Ruby?" Tai asks keeping his focus on the flying the ship and not crashing.**

"**Come on, come on, come on, come on." Jaune says to himself.**

"_**Okay." **_**Ruby says over the intercom.**

"**Everybody hold on to something." Tai tells them which everyone does. "Here's something you can't do." Tai flips a switch under the console.**

**One of the thrusters rotates so it is in reverse to the other spinning the ship around so it faces the Reaver ship. The thruster rotates again so it is facing the correct way and flies towards the Reaver ship and flies under it and the rear of the ship begins to glow.**

"**Now!" **

**Cardin and Port work together to activate full burn and the soon the engine room glows as it powers up. When full burn is activated it creates a large explosion in the sky, **_**Serenity **_**gains a massive speed boost as it flies off the planet and back into space. The Reaver ship is turns hard to avoid being engulfed in flames.**

"That was awesome!" Nora yelled jumping in her seat. "Jauney, we need to try that. First we run away from the Grimm and then we turn around and run at them throwing them off guard."

"I don't think that will work Nora." Jaune told her causing her to deflate before perking up again.

"I'll think of another plan then." She proclaimed.

**Jaune smiles and chuckles as they escape the Reavers and leave Whitefall. "I knew I hired you for something." He tells Tai with a chuckle.**

**Sienna lets out a relived chuckle as she places a hand on Tai's shoulder. "Ain't no way they can come around in time to follow us now."**

**Jaune activates the ship's intercom. "We're good people. We're out of the woods." He tells the crew who are celebrating.**

**In the engine room Ruby rubs the hull of the ship affectionately. "That's my girl. That's my good girl." She pats the ship and smiles at Cardin's dance of joy.**

"That's something she does when she thinks no one is watching." Yang said recalling the time they entered their dorm and found Ruby affectionately petting Crescent Rose. Suffice to say it was awkward that resulted in Ruby fainting at being found out.

"Didn't you do the same thing" Tai whispered to Summer who blushed in embarrassment and denied the suggestion even though it is true. Summer is a well-known weapons nut, a trait that she passed onto her daughter which she wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

"**We should have just enough left in us to hit a fuel station." Tai tells Jaune and Sienna who is leaning on the back of his chair. "We'll need to do some patching up." He looks to them. "I hope we got paid today."**

"**We did." Jaune tells him.**

**Sienna looks at Tai with lust in her eyes. "Sir? I'd like you to take the helm, please." She says in a tone that offers no room for argument. "I need this man to tear all my clothes off." She says with a smile as she grabs Tai's vest and yanks him out of the pilot's chair.**

"**Work, work, work." Tai says with a smirk and humor in his voice. Jaune sits in the pilot's chair as Sienna continues to drag Tai behind her. Jaune exhales sharply and thinks for a moment before flipping a switch and takes control of the ship as they fly through space.**

Winter heard Qrow mumble again about "blondes getting all the hot ones" and "need to dye my hair blonde". Winter imagined Qrow with blonde hair and the mental image made her laugh which she quickly covered up with a cough.

Yang and Ruby felt dirty at the mention of their father having sex. The two sisters lost their appetite.

**Pyrrha dabs at the wound on Port's forehead inside her shuttle. "Should really have the young doctor look at this."**

"**It's not so bad."**

"**Well, I'm sure you'll be fine." She tells him as she stops dapping at the wound.**

"**I didn't say that." Port says with a heavy sigh before looking up to Pyrrha. "Is this what life is… out here?"**

"**Sometimes."**

"**I've been out of the abbey two days." Port says thinking back to Persephone and looks away. "I've beaten an Officer senseless. I've fallen in with criminals. I've watched the Captain shoot the man I swore to protect." He looks back up to Pyrrha.**

"**And I'm not even sure if I think he was wrong." Port's voice wavers.**

**Pyrrha kneels in front of Port. "Shepard—"**

"**I believe. I just—" Port takes a breath and looks down and back up, his eyes watering. "I think I'm on the wrong ship."**

"**Maybe." Pyrrha says before standing up. "Or maybe you're exactly where you ought to be." She tells him as he lowers his head and she places a hand on top of his head.**

"Ironic twist." Li said setting down his tea cup. "A woman who deals in the pleasure of others, comforts a man of faith."

"Life is truly strange and full of surprises." An added before looking to the one responsible for bringing them back to life. Spart who is enjoying a digital pizza, small cyber crumbs floated down slowly and disappeared before it reached them.

**Inside Whitley's room in the passenger area, Weiss is sleeping on the bed and wakes up when Whitley approaches. "The shot I gave you will help you sleep." He tells her pulling the covers up.**

"**I slept for so long, didn't I?" Weiss says groggily holding her head.**

"**Just for a little while. And then we'll find a place." Whitley tells her sitting on the bed. "We'll find a safe place."**

**Weiss touches his face and his busted lip. "I didn't think you'd come for me."**

"**Well, you're a dummy." Whitley tells her causes her to smile before he hugs her. Weiss cries into his shoulder.**

Willow smiled at the closeness of two of her children and hoped that in the new world line all of her children will closer than they are now.

Weiss smiled warmly at the scene between herself and her brother.

"He's a good brother." Saphron said holding Adrian and smiling at the scene and remembering her childhood when she had to take care of her siblings when her parents wanted to go out.

"**The girl's a problem." Cardin tells Jaune in the bridge as he checks over the various systems. "The Officer said they'd keep looking for her. Something about her… brain bein' all special, important to the Atlas brass." Jaune continues to check the systems. "Sooner we dump them two, the better."**

"**Suppose so." Cardin heads for the exit. "Funny how the Officer got out of his room… you havin' tied him up so well and all."**

**Cardin stops and looks back at Jaune. "I didn't have nothing to do with that." He tells Jaune who looks at him. "Anyhow, it all turned out just fine. Buzzards are the only ones gonna find him."**

"**But he did try to make a deal with you, right?" Cardin doesn't answer right away and Jaune smirks as he resumes checking systems. "How come you didn't turn on me, Cardin?"**

"**Money wasn't good enough."**

"**What happens when it is?"**

**Cardin inhales slowly. "Well, that'll be an interesting day."**

"**Imagine it will." **

"I'd pay to see that." Yang said wondering how the fight would go between two in this universe.

"It be interesting to see. Especially since this Jaune seems more competent than ours." Weiss said unknowingly drawing the ire of Ruby, Pyrrha, Nora, Velvet, Emilia and the Arc sisters. She felt a chill run her up her spine and she couldn't figure out way.

"Never underestimate anyone, Miss Schnee." Glynda reprimanded the Heiress. "Mr. Arc may lack combat skills of other Hunters. But he may improve over time with the help of his team."

Hearing Glynda say that he could improve made Jaune's day and he vowed to make her proud.

Leon and Emilia frowned at the mention of Jaune's lack of training. Something that they intend to explain to their son about their reasons why.

**Cardin leaves the bridge and hits Whitley's shoulder as he passes him. Jaune sits the pilots chair when Whitley enters the bridge.**

"**You need me to look at that?" Whiltey asks pointing to the wound on Jaune's arm.**

**Jaune looks at the wound. "It's just a graze." He says before he spins in the chair and faces the console.**

"**So, where do you plan on dumping us?" Whitley asks looking out into the empty void of space.**

"**There's places you might be safe." Jaune tells him. "If you want the truth, though, you're probably safer on the move. And we never stop movin'."**

"Is he going to do what I think he is?" Summer said slightly giddy.

"Looks that way." Leon said proud of his son for offering the man a place on the ship.

"**I'm confused." Whitley looks to Jaune. "No, wait. I—I think maybe you're confused."**

**Jaune scratches his nose. "It may have become apparent to you that the ship could uses a medic." He tells Whitley leaning in his seat. "You ain't weak. Don't know how bright you are, top three percent, but… you ain't weak, and that's not nothin'."**

"That's true." Tai said looking to Jaune and respecting the boy a little for sneaking into Beacon and standing with the best of them and not die. As far as he's concerned the boy has earned his spot at Beacon.

"He' right." Pyrrha told Jaune before remembering that Weiss told him that she likes him and blushed.

**Whitley sits in the copilot's seat. "You live by my rule—you keep your sister from doing anything crazy—you could maybe find a place here, till you find a better."**

"**Uh, I'm trying to put this as delicately as I can." Whitley says thinking for a minute before speaking. "How do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?"**

"That's a good question. Considering how earlier Jaune asked if there was a reward on Whitley." Kali said remembering the earlier scene in question.

"Jaune is a man of honor in this universe." James said. "He could have killed Raven when she was unarmed and vulnerable. Instead he spared her and only took the money he was promised."

"**You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once." Jaune leans forward in the chair. "If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me, and you'll be armed."**

"**Are you always this sentimental?"**

**Jaune leans back in his chair. "I had a good day."**

"Getting shot again, killing an Atlas agent, escaping Reavers. How is that a good day?" Ren asked listing off all the things that went wrong ever since they landed on Whitefall.

"I'd hate to see a bad day." Blake said while stretching.

"**You had Atlas on you—criminals and savages." Whitley goes down the list. "Half the people on this ship have been shot or wounded, including yourself… and you're harboring known fugitives."**

"**Well, we're still flyin'."**

"**That's not much."**

"**It's enough."**

**Whitley leaves the bridge and Jaune to his thoughts as he looks out into space and smiles.**

"**Good day."**

The screens fades to black as the lights come back on allowing everyone to stretch.

"I liked that universe." Summer said feeling her back pop. "It's like a western set in space."

"Yeah, I enjoyed it and want to see more." Pyrrha said having a secret love for westerns.

"Yeah, it does look interesting." Jaune said looking to Pyrrha before looking away as he recalled Weiss' words. _'Am I really so dense that I didn't notice her feelings.' _Jaune thought before combing his memories and felt stupid for recognizing the signs. _'We need to talk about this,' _he thought to himself before looking to Pyrrha and smiling at her putting her nerves at ease.

"The next showing will start soon and after which dinner will be served." Spart told the audience.

* * *

**A/N: Another long chapter finished and boy was it fun to write. Looking over some of the reaction stories I've noticed that they don't include TV shows, well the ones I've read don't. Weiss outburst regarding Pyrrha's feelings for our blonde knight was fun to write. **

**I felt like Weiss would be fed up with Pyrrha dancing around the issue not to mention living with Yang and her puns, Blake and her books, Ruby and her cookie only diet. This would lead to her building up frustration and decided to let it out against Arkos for being dense and for not telling him her feelings. A feeling that everyone who is a Arkos fan can get behind.**

**Thanks to everyone for reading, favorite, and following this story.**

**You guys are awesome.**

**\\[T]/**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm back with another long chapter. So the reason why this chapter took forever to come out is due to the fact that my family suffered two deaths and dealing with everything just sapped all of my creative writing.**

**I had to sit myself in front of the computer and force myself to write until that creative feeling came back and I was able to write this chapter. With that in mind this chapter may not have the same feeling as the previous ones. I apologize if that is the case.**

**With that out of the way. Thank you to everyone for supporting this fic even though there are many far better ones. Thank you again. I can't say it enough.**

**You guys are awesome.**

**Also any mistakes are mine and mine alone.**

**Inspiration: Various Trailers.**

* * *

"Everyone, the next showing won't be a full a viewing. But rather small snippets that show what the universe is about." Spart told the group as they stretched in their seats. "Think of them like trailers for an upcoming movie."

"Are we going to be viewing these universes in the future?" Nora asked with her hand raised.

"Some yes and others no." Spart told her getting the energetic ginger to deflate. "There are thousands of worlds in the multiverse. It would take years to view them all."

"So how do you choose which universe for us to view?" Jaune asked curious.

"Honestly? Randomly." Spart informed them bringing up screens of the many universes. "There are good and bad ones and sorting through them can be very tiring. So I use a machine that picks out which universe to view."

"That sounds very lazy." Weiss commented looking to Spart surprised that a being of such caliber can be lazy.

"Ok." Spart said before summoning a large book that landed in front of Weiss scaring the young heiress. The book is comically large in that the front cover can't be seen from their perspective. "This is a record of all the known universes in the multiverse. Now would you like to start from the beginning and see which universe suits you?"

Weiss craned her head upwards and tried to spot where the book began but couldn't see it. Shaking her head Weiss settled in her seat before the book grew larger surprising everyone.

"That means another universe has been added to the records." Spart informed them before the book grew again and again. "Ok, you get the idea." Spart said before a flash of light engulfed the book and it disappeared. "Keep in mind that other Authors such as myself have a different representation of the multiverse. This is mine."

"So, we are going to see snippets of some of these universes correct?" Ozpin asked interested in seeing one where Salem never was created.

"Yes, after which dinner will be served then you'll have free time to mingle and converse with each other." Spart told them. "I imagine some of you would like to clear the air and talk."

Some in the audience look to each and agreed with Spart, especially those that are reunited with their loved ones that they never thought they would never see again.

"The first in the showing will be a sort of character intro that will introduce you to what they do." Spart said before taking his usual spot above the audience as the screen came to life and the lights dimmed.

**In a wide open room stands a man wearing a white mask that is the signature of the White Fang terrorist group. Surrounding the man is explosives and drums with explosives attached to them, wires can be seen connecting them to various hidden explosives throughout the room. The man is holding the detonator for the explosives in his right hand.**

"Is the White Fang truly beyond the point of no return?" Ghira asked looking to Sienna with disappointment and anger at the Tiger Faunus for steering the once peaceful organization onto a more violent path.

Ghira felt a hand lay gently on his and turned to see his wife giving him a gentle smile that said to leave it. Taking a deep breath Ghira calmed himself down in time to see Blake lower her head in shame at the sight of the man willing to die for the White Fang and their radical ideals. A path she herself was on before seeing the truth about Adam.

James and Winter scowled at the sight wondering why the Hunters or Police aren't doing anything.

"**GPS satellites, unmanned drones, fuckin' laser sights."**

**The sound of pin being pulled can be faintly heard in the background, something rolls toward the man and stops underneath his feet. **

"That sounds like Qrow." Ruby pointed out and everyone who knows the drunken scythe wielder nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like your Army Jimmy." Qrow turned in his seat to better see the General of Atlas.

"The use of drones in combat has proven effective and they limit human casualties." James defended the use of drones in the Atlas Military.

"Have you already forgotten what the light bulb showed us earlier?" Qrow asked bringing up the memory of Atlas drones being hacked and attacking everyone they see. James didn't respond much to the satisfaction of Qrow who went back to watching the screen.

"**The more crutches you have."**

**The object flashes blue before emitting an EMP pulse rendering all electronics in the area useless including the lights bathing the area in darkness.**

"**The more they hurt when they're kicked out from under you."**

"A sentiment that is all to true and has been responsible for felling most Hunters." Leon said getting nods from his family and even Glynda.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"In the early days of mechashift weapons, a lot of people relied on them. As a result Hunters grew too dependent on them and all the advantages they offered. But, a Grimm can damage the internal components making shifting impossible or a criminal can jam the weapon with a well placed hit. This led to a lot of Hunters dying in the field when their weapon seized up on them." Emilia explained looking to RWBY and JNPR. "Now Hunters always carry a second weapon that isn't a mechashift as a backup. The Hunters of the past had a crutch in relying too much on the mechashift and not taking any backup weapons just in case."

Ruby recalled all the times that she became defenseless when she lost Crescent Rose, remembering MountGlenn when the White Fang took her weapon away and how useless she became without it. Yang and their dad tried to teach her some hand to hand techniques but she never could get a grasp on their teachings. Had she really relied on Crescent Rose too much that it could be considered a crutch?

James thought back to what Spart showed them when he first appeared. The Atlas drones being hacked and going berserk, the many soldiers, Hunters and civilians that lost their lives because Atlas relied too heavily on the use of drones. James vowed to look into the issue when they get to the new world line to reduce the numbers of drones in the military.

**The sound of a blade being drawn and flesh being cut can be heard. The White Fang grunt falls to the ground as man wearing black and a gas mask holding a small knife appears behind him.**

"**If there's one thing I know for sure. Is that a six inch blade never loses reception."**

**Qrow puts the knife back in it's sheathe located on his forearm as the lights come back on.**

"It would seem that Qrow is in the military." Bart said earning a groan from James and Winter who both shuddered at the thought of Qrow in the military.

"You wouldn't last a day in the military." James said looking to Qrow who nodded in agreement.

"If it means turning into you then I agree." Qrow replied sipping his drink.

"It seems Qrow in this universe doesn't rely on technology." Tai spoke adjusting his sitting position.

"I know some hunters who are like that." Emilia said looking to her husband who shrugged in response as the next intro started.

**Pyrrha is in a firing range wearing black and a flack vest with the words FBI stitched into the back of the vest. She is wearing a black cap and sunglasses; her red hair is tied into a pony tail and set off to the side. She is holding a custom made grenade launcher and takes a knee, grabbing a grenade round from one of her vest pouches and loads it into the grenade launcher.**

"There are a lot of universes that don't have a lot of Hunters in them." Saphron said noticing how this universe also doesn't have Hunters.

"Indeed, yours is just a page in the ever expanding multiverse book." Spart told her from his spot.

"What's FBI?" Pyrrha asked seeing the logo stitched into the back of the vest.

"Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was created in Mistral to help combat the rising crime wave and have branches throughout Remnant."

Ruby meanwhile is eyeing the weapon, mentally taking it apart and putting it back together, figuring out how the weapon works and what type of ammunition it fires.

"**When I was little my mother told me that silence is a woman's best garment."**

"My mother never told me such a thing." Pyrrha said crossing her arms.

"Something tells me that you didn't listen to her." Yang said looking to the grenade launcher in Pyrrha's hands.

**Pyrrha aims at a cement wall downrange and fires. The grenade round flies through the air and flaps open on the sides of the round. Pyrrha designed the grenade round to help in breeching so the grenade round has a drill like tip and serrated edges to help it bury into walls. The grenade rounds also feature a delayed fuse so it detonates after a few seconds.**

"**But I admit. I never took her lessons to heart."**

"No shit." Yang said impressed by the size of the explosion. Tai was about to reprimand Yang for using foul language until Summer stopped him with a warm smile.

"Explosions!" Nora yelled throwing her fists in the air and jumping in her seat getting some of older audience to chuckle at the hyper ginger. "We should get a version of Magnhild for you to use." She suggested to Pyrrha who chuckled nervously.

"It would take a while for me to use it effectively in combat. Not to mention it would throw off my aim carrying the extra weight." Pyrrha told her teammate causing her to deflate before perking up again.

"I'll train you in the art of explosions, young grasshopper." Nora said doing a pretty good impression of a sage.

**The grenade round impacts against the cement wall and digs into the wall and explodes after a few seconds. Pyrrha shields her face from the flying debris.**

"Such a weapon would be useful to the police and to the Hunters assisting them." Ozpin said ordering another cup of coffee.

"Indeed, it would have been useful to have when I came across a hostage situation in my youth." Port said before drinking some water and looked at the screen without saying another word which surprised everyone expecting him to go off on another two hour story that seemed exaggerated in certain parts. "What?" he asked noticing that everyone is staring at him.

Everyone focused back on the screen after being caught by Port.

"**I was trapped for a long time."**

**Jaune is using a custom made cutting torch and is cutting something as sparks fly around him. He is wearing a dark brown hat and clothes that are suited for desert climate. He also is sporting a light beard.**

The girls of Beacon had to admit that Jaune looked good in a light beard, especially those that have a crush on the blonde knight. Sun and Neptune see the appreciative looks the girls are giving on screen Jaune. The two looked at each other and nodded in agreement to grow a beard since they seem to attract the attention of the ladies.

Emilia looks to her husband remembering when they first met and the light beard that he had at the time which she admits looked good on him. Looking to her son now on screen it is amazing how much to two look alike.

Summer ran a hand through Tai's stubble and remembers how he had a beard after Raven left him. She wouldn't admit it to him at the time that she loved the beard and briefly wondered if he would be open to the idea of growing it out again.

Kali leaned over and kissed Ghira on the cheek thankful that she managed to convince him to keep the beard after they started dating. She loved the way beard would feel against her skin, not to mention she would reenact her favorite scene in her favorite book _Soldier's Passion._ Which is about an Atlas soldier and a Faunus captive.

"I take that all the intros are about soldiers?" Winter asked while crossing her legs.

"Yup, all of the intros are members of an anti-terrorist unit that recruits from different branches of the military and the police." Spart informed them peeking James' interest. "The unit is called Rainbow and the person in charge is called Six for security reasons."

"Interesting." James said looking back to the screen.

"So Jaune is a soldier?" One of Jaune's sisters asked holding Adrian who giggled in her hold.

"Yes, in this universe Jaune is a member of the Delta Force and was captured." Spart told them earning gasps from the Arc family. "He escaped using a make makeshift cutting torch that he crafted using spare parts. He still uses the torch to help in breeching defenses. He's made some modifications to it over the years."

Everyone breathed easily at the news of Jaune escaping and from the looks of it now a member of Rainbow.

"**Lived and seen things you couldn't imagine."**

**Jaune finishes cutting and turns off the cutting torch as a slit of light hits his face.**

"**Now I see things in a different light."**

**Jaune stands in front of a wall metal with a opening that he cut with his cutting torch allowing him to see outside.. Drawing his pistol he aims out of the opening before quickly moving to his left and firing two times as the screen went black.**

"Good reflexes." Winter said looking to Jaune and vaguely remembering how Weiss described him as a "bumbling idiot". As a policy Winter never judges a person on their appearance or a hunter until she's seen them fight and at the same time she trusts her little sister. _'I'll judge for myself.'_

"Have you considered a career in the military, Mr. Arc?" James asked the blonde.

"Not really." Jaune answered looking to his team and wouldn't trade them for anything. "It's my dream to be a Hunter."

Leon and Emilia lowered their heads in shame at the mention of Jaune's dream again. Leon especially felt guilt for not training his son. He plans to explain his reasons for not training him after the dinner and hopes that Jaune won't be angry with him.

Everyone focused back on the screen as it back to life showing another intro.

**A green light can be seen under a closed door. The camera moves under the door revealing multiple cylindrical objects standing upright with a glue like substance keeping it in place. The green glow is emanating from the green lights on the devices.**

"**It's a brutal, dangerous world out there."**

"Weiss?" Ruby asked looking to her partner who is shocked that she is in the military like her sister.

Winter meanwhile is proud that her little sister is away from their father and with her in the military. Willow isn't sure how she feels about her youngest daughter in the military; she didn't know that Winter had joined the military until Jacque told her that Winter is no longer the heiress and no longer living with them. Willow responded by drinking more and secluding herself from the rest of her family. Now she has the rare opportunity to reconnect with her daughters and maybe be the mother they need.

"Understatement of the century." Qrow said leaning in his seat referring to what on screen Weiss said about the world.

"A lesson we all learned the hard way." Glynda said recalling her first mission as a Huntress and seeing just how cruel the world really can be and how no one is spared from it. All of the adults in the audience nodded in agreement, including Coco and Velvet since they've been on missions that haven't always ended well.

Ruby wasn't sure she believed what on screen Weiss said. Sure the world can be dangerous but brutal. She didn't believe it, couldn't believe it and remembered her vow she made when she was young at her mom's grave that she would make the world a better place. And with her team and JNPR be her side, she will see that promise fulfilled.

Spart shook his "head" at Ruby's thoughts, at her naiveté. In time she will see that no one can change the way the world works. People are just to set in their ways for them to change and maybe things will change but not in their lifetime. He wouldn't dash that for Ruby, he would let her have her dream for just a while longer.

**The camera moves past the cylindrical objects causing their green lights to turn red with a whining pitch.**

"**But I found my way."**

"Everyone does eventually." Ghira said looking to Blake sitting with her team and happy. Kali leaned against him and shared his thought happy that their daughter left the White Fang and redeeming herself for her past actions.

**A pair of legs can be seen hidden in the darkness of the room. The camera pans up to reveal a woman with short hair in a bob cut; she is wearing a black cap with a pair of goggles resting on top of them and a headset. In her hands is another cylindrical object which she pulls a pin from as a green light illuminates her face.**

"**Chaos is my home. And I'll make sure you'll never escape it."**

**Weiss looks directly at the camera and smirks as the green light shifts to red and the screen fades black.**

"Weiss, you're a badass." Yang said impressed at how much her teammate is different than the one sitting next to her. "Also showing off your legs." She told the white themed girl who didn't say anything but tried to pull the hem of her dress lower to hide her legs. She is surprised that her on screen self would wear such tight pants in the military before looking to her sister who outfit is tight in certain places.

"She also cut her hair." Blake added while wondering what her on screen counterpart role is.

"Short hair for the win!" Nora shouted jumping out of her seat and high-fiving Ruby before embracing her in a signature Nora hug that JNPR insist can kill an Alpha Ursa if she put her back into it. "Together we are the Sisterhood of Short Hair!"

"Can't breathe…" Ruby said trying to wiggle out of the hug before being dropped to the floor when Nora released her and went back to her seat. Ruby staggered back to her seat while gasping for breath and collapsing into her seat upon reaching it making her sister smile.

Winter is impressed at her sister who is obliviously a defender with those traps that she recognized as Atlas make. She also recognized the symbol on her jacket sleeve as the symbol of the Specialists. She is proud of her sister for making the cut to begin training as a Specialists, knowing how difficult the selection process and training can be from experience.

**In plain room with a flickering overheard light, Winter is standing behind a table that is emanating white light that shines off her face giving her a gentle glow. She is wearing a black beret with sunglasses that are lowered so her eyes can be seen over the top of the frame with a headset under the beret. She ditched her white outfit for clothing suited for urban combat.**

"Having some color suits you, Ice Queen." Qrow told Winter gesturing to the screen where Winter is wearing something other than white and she does admit that it does suite her.

"She looks like you, Coco." Velvet said getting her team leader to scoff.

"No one can surpass the original." Coco said gesturing to herself to further prove her point. "Besides, I hate knock offs."

Velvet didn't know how to respond to that and just focused back on the screen.

"**I decide when to restrain."**

**Winter grabs a grenade casing and begins assembling the explosive shell.**

"**And when to kill."**

"A true Specialist." James said with pride which made Winter straighten up in her seat.

"How do you decide that?" Ruby asked and none of the adults had a right way to answer that question since they all have different answers and some may upset the Hunters in training.

"In time, you'll discover the answer." Summer told her daughter and she accepted the answer for now.

**After tightening the cap she sets the explosive shell next to the others revealing her custom made grenade launcher fully disassembled and the individual pieces of the weapon are neatly placed on the table.**

"**Only the best call the shots."**

**Winter places her hands on the table and leans forward as the camera pulls back revealing two walls that have a decent sized hole in them.**

"That's right." Raven said agreeing with what Winter said. A belief she has always had and something that her team disagreed with. Especially Summer who saw everyone as equal. At the start of their friendship the two would always get into an argument until they decided to settle their difference in a fight that ended in a tie.

After that Raven saw a strong leader in Summer and slowly became her friend despite their different views and opinions.

No one said anything in response to what Raven said and chose instead to watch the next video.

**In the middle of the room standing still is Emerald aiming her weapon at something that can't be seen. The camera circles around Emerald to reveal two identical copies in the same pose.**

"Isn't that Cinder's teammate?" Weiss asked recalling the few times she's seen Cinder and her team around Beacon.

"That means she's working for her and wants to bring down Beacon!" Yang shouted angry at the green haired girl.

"Actually, Emerald is misguided." Spart spoke up getting their attention. "She was orphaned at a young age and had to suffer growing up on the streets where she learned to survive. Then Cinder appeared and offered her a way out. Since then she's been loyal to Cinder."

"Is it possible to change her mind and have her switch sides?" Ren asked being reminded of his youth and how easily his and Nora's life could have turned out like Emerald's.

"In some World Lines, yes. In others no." Spart told them as some nod their heads in understanding. "In fact in one World Line, Jaune and Emerald end up married."

"What!" All the girls that have a crush on Jaune yelled devastated at the news.

"It's actually a funny tale that involves alcohol and a drunken proposal."

"That's even worse." Emilia said disappointed that her son got into a drunken marriage even though it's in a different World Line. Meanwhile Leon found the scenario humorous and feels slightly proud that his son is able to get into a drunken marriage with many different girls it seems.

"Actually there are many world lines where Jaune ends up in different drunken marriages."

"Note to self. Never take Jaune drinking." Yang whispered and Tai, Ghira, Emilia and even Qrow agreed on. Not wanting Jaune to be drinking so young in his life or anywhere near their daughters or nieces when he does drink.

"Are we going to see any of them per chance?" Nora asks innocently.

"Perhaps." Spart said before focusing back on the screen as did everyone.

"**Illusions can be fatal. If you waver, you're mine."**

**The camera continues to circle around the Emerald's.**

"**If you pick wrong. You're mine."**

**The camera stops on Emerald as someone off screen shoots one of the duplicates making them disappear in a flash of blue while the real Emerald quickly shoots them.**

"In this universe, Emerald never lost her parents and she went into the police force and became a member of an anti-terrorist unit. Eventually she was recruited by Rainbow."

"Amazing how one choice or decision can affect a person's life." Ozpin said looking to Sienna who was wronged early in her life and as a result harbors a hatred for humankind.

"Yeah." Blake said looking down recalling her decision to join the White Fang and how that one decision led her down a path of hardship and revelations.

**The camera shows two people sitting in chairs on a cliff overlooking a valley. In between the two is a small table with a radio that is playing a song and motor bike helmet. Behind them is an armored SUV and a dirt bike. Ruby leans in her chair bored while Yang sits comfortably in hers, her once luscious blonde hair cut short to avoid being grabbed. Yang is wearing a tan cap backwards with sunglasses resting on them. Both are dressed for combat and waiting as per their orders.**

"Another universe without my luscious locks!" Yang cried out holding her blonde hair for comfort which caused Weiss to roll her eyes. Tai smiled at the action recognizing the gesture as something Raven would do from time to time.

"It makes sense to cut your hair, Miss Xio Long. An opponent can grab it and throw you of balance or it can get caught in something and hinder you." Winter told the blonde brawler getting her attention. "I would suggest putting your hair in a bun since you're against cutting it."

"Miss Schnee is correct." Glynda said pushing up her glasses and going into "lecture mode" as the student body called it. "Having long hair in a fight is of no benefit to you. It can obscure your eyes, making you lose track of your opponent and makes it easier for opponents to grab a hold of it. Hence the reason why most Huntresses put their hair into a bun or have them cut short."

Velvet, Pyrrha, Blake, Weiss and Yang considered their teacher's words and consider them. Yang looked to her mother and saw that she didn't have her hair in a bun but free. She'll have to ask Summer for advice about it later.

"That looks like some areas in Vacuo." Sun said recognizing the landscape after Glynda finished her lecture. "Southern region from the looks of it."

"So they're both in the military?" Tai asked worried for his daughter safety since being in the military is just as dangerous as being a Hunter.

"I think it's safe to assume that almost everyone here is in the military or police in this universe." Willow said adjusting her position in her seat.

**Ruby leans forward in her chair. "It's uh… quiet, yeah?" She asks Yang looking to her who is drinking from her canteen.**

"**Mmm – hmm." Yang agreed taking another sip from her canteen. Ruby groans out of boredom and leans back in her seat before leaning over in her seat towards Yang.**

"**It's like really… really… really."**

"**What, quiet?" Yang asks turning in her seat to face Ruby who hangs her head down.**

"**Quiet." Ruby finishes with a sigh.**

"Never thought Ruby would be the restless one." Tai said holding Summer's hand recalling how in Yang's youth she would always be on the move, never standing still always going from one place to the next. It always gave him a heart attack when he couldn't find her and had to run around the house to find her.

Ruby on the other hand was always the quiet one and always stayed in place. Of course that all changed when she started to walk and followed Yang around everywhere much to her delight as she got to be an older sister and lead Ruby around the house.

"Yang also seems to have matured." Summer said having been worried about the blonde brawler being similar to her mother who was always reckless. Just seeing her act calm, the exact opposite of Raven which brought a smile to her face.

"_**Attention, convey entering the sector in five minutes." **_

**Ruby quickly jumps out of her seat the moment the radio comes to life and grabs her helmet before sprinting to her bike. Quickly putting on her helmet Ruby hops on the bike and revs it to life before driving off leaving behind a tail of dust.**

"**Whoooo!" Ruby cheers as she drives off.**

**Yang sighs as she puts away her canteen and rises out of her chair and stretches her muscles before grabbing her shotgun and pumping it before going to the armored SUV and chasing after her younger sister as the screen goes black.**

"Yang acting as the big sister again." Summer said fondly remembering how Yang was always protective of Ruby.

Yang straightened in her seat at Summer's praise.

Ruby on the other hand felt annoyance at Yang's over protectiveness and wished that Yang would give her some space. Something that Yang would do years later.

"I wonder who is going to be next?" Blake asked while wondering what her role in the Rainbow unit is.

"Onto the next and we shall see!" Nora yelled existed to see more of this universe.

**In a white room sits Blake wearing her combat gear, her raven hair is tied into two braids and she is wearing a black beanie with a cat holding a fish stitched into the side. Two holes are cut into the beanie for her ears to breathe and move around. In her hands is a tablet that she is using and swipes something across the screen before pressing something on the screen.**

"Now, that's a cat suit." Yang gently elbowed Blake earning a blush from the raven haired girl who looked at her on screen counterpart. On screen Blake wore a form fitting suit that clung to her legs and arms showing off her curves, she also wore a vest that covered her torso. Blake would never be caught wearing something like that, of course her fantasies on the other hand have a different plan in mind for when she goes to sleep.

Sun wiped away a nose bleed and crossed his legs to hide his growing erection at the form fitting suit that on screen Blake wore. Mentally saving the image for later, Sun looked to Blake and imagined her wearing the suit before getting hit in the face with a popcorn kernel. Looking in the general direction that the kernel came from revealing an angry looking Ghira and Kaili Belladonna.

Smiling awkwardly Sun quickly focused back on the screen when Ghira clenched his fists so hard that his knuckled popped.

Ilia on the other hand saved the image of Blake in a form fitting suit for later.

**In the background a melody can be heard.**

"**You're scroll is ringing.**

**Blake sets her tablet down and grabs her SMG switching the safety off and aims it with one hand to her right.**

"**Here, let me get that for you."**

**Blake pulls the trigger and fire a quick burst before setting the weapon back down and smirking. **

"So, I'm a hacker." Blake said surprised that her role on Rainbow would be that of a hacker and not an infiltrator. Like her own role when she was in the White Fang.

"Got to admit, it's strange seeing Blake as the hacker type." Yang said agreeing with Blake though she didn't know it.

"I can kind of see it." Ruby said looking to Blake. "You spend most of your time away from other people and prefer to read in private. As a result you tend to overhear a lot a personal conversations." She explained to her teammate.

"If people choose to gossip around me and fail to notice me then it's their fault." Blake said defending her habits for eavesdropping.

"Yeah, but you don't announce yourself. Instead you just choose to listen in on their conversation." Yang added making Blake shrink into her seat in an effort to hide herself. "I thought you knew that curiosity killed the cat?" Yang teased her teammate knowing that she won't retort since it's not in her nature.

"And satisfaction brought her back." Black retorted with smirk that only grew when Yang tried to come up with a comeback but failed. What she wasn't prepared for was Yang slapping her on the back and giving a thumbs up and a toothy grin before focusing back on the screen as another intro appeared.

**In the center of a white room is multiple monitors displaying different angles of man walking. **

"**You never saw me coming."**

**The man stops in front of the monitors and looks at the many screens projecting him on screen. One of the screens shows only the side profile of the man, the only noticeable trait that the man is a single strand of pink hair.**

"Ren, it's you!" Nora yelled pointing to the screen while holding his arm. "You're like a ninja in that no on can see you. Just like you are now!"

"Thank you, Nora." Ren simply said having grown used to her antics. Looking to himself on screen, Ren had to admit that the outfit he wore suited him since it seems to be geared toward being light and maneuverable instead of bulky and heavy.

"**Don't feel so bad." **

**The man looks at the ballistic face mask that he is holding in his left hand. **

"**Nobody ever sees me."**

**As the man puts on his mask the screens distort and show nothing but snow on the screens.**

"**I'm in everyone's blind spot."**

**The man looks over his shoulder before the screen glitches and he disappears.**

"Maybe you should take some lessons from Ren." Yang nudged her partner who didn't respond and just focused back on the screen. Blake was perfectly happy with her skills and according to her, already had all the knowledge and experience from her time with the White Fang and couldn't learn any more.

A statement many of the teachers at Beacon don't share as there is always something new to learn and see. Such as a floating orb that wields power they could only dream of and the concept of the multiverse and world lines.

"That's so awesome, Renny." Nora exclaimed happily holding onto her childhood friend. "You can disappear and reappear at will."

"It only works on electronics." Spart informed Nora making her deflate slightly before perking up.

"We'll make it happen in the real world!" Nora vowed making Ren and Jaun nervous recalling the last time she vowed to make something happen, they got a month's worth of detention.

"We'll consider it, Nora." Jaune said hoping to dissuade Nora from doing something that would land them in detention for the entire year. Luckily for them the next intro started getting their attention and Nora's.

"**You mix fuel, metal oxide, and metal powder in just the right way."**

**A woman's voice can be heard as a rectangular shape is being cut into a metal wall.**

"Nora?" Jaune asked surprised that the energetic bomber is a member of an anti-terrorist unit. _'Then again, she is a Huntress in training and managed to get into Beacon.' _

"Is she making a bomb?" Pyrrha wondered as she knows Nora likes to make her own ammunition. _"They don't know that Magnhild is quite picky about the ammo she eats." _Nora once told her when she asked why she makes her own ammunition instead of having them made and brought to Beacon.

"I don't think so. It looks more like a breaching device." James said mentally taking notes so he could have the R&D team make the device. Such a thing could help in breaching hard to access areas.

"I've no recollection of such a formula existing." Penny said holding a cup of tea.

"**It burns at 2,000 degrees Celsius, hot enough to cut through any known barrier, known to man."**

**The shape is finished being cut before it explodes inwards with the debris flying inwards.**

"**Throw some fire Dust and explosives into the mix and you've got one hell of a combination."**

**A soldier steps through the open hole in the wall with their weapon raised.**

"I need that upgrade! And I need it now!" Nora shouted with glee that made JNPR nervous at the notion of Nora having a grenade that could melt through any known barrier. Ren especially was nervous since Nora could use the new grenade to break into the military grade safe that holds the pancake mixings.

Ruby and James took note of the mixture that on screen Nora said. Such a combination could be used to benefit human and Faunus kind in their fight against the Grimm since not all ammo types are capable of piercing the strong bone armor that covers the Grimm. A grenade or bullet with the right mixture of Nora's formula could melt the bone armor of the Grimm and give them an advantage in the fight against Salem.

Before Nora could speak the screen moved on to the next showing.

**VALE TRAINING CAMP**

**Qrow enters a room wearing his gear and gas mask, his pistol is raised as he clears the room before going to a side door and slowly opening it and checking to see if it is clear before moving on. Blake follows behind him checking any corners that he missed and hanging back to provide cover for him.**

"Ok, starting off good." Yang said channeling her inner critic.

"Are they looking for the White Fang?" Ruby asked adjusting her sitting position.

"**Attention, all operators. 30 seconds remaining in this scenario." A voice announced over the intercom system as Qrow and Blake take cover on either side of a door where Blake gives the 'Hold' gesture before holstering her SMG and grabbing her tablet and starting her hacking program.**

"There's your answer, Miss Rose. They are in a training scenario." James said recalling some of the scenarios he underwent in basic.

"Something tells me that Qrow is going to wait." Yang said remembering how impatient her uncle can be.

"Such a trait can be reckless to a Hunter and their teams." Winter said thinking back to some of the students who were impatient in their studies and as a result only ended up harming themselves and their team.

Weiss and Blake looked to Ruby and Yang when Winter mentioned how being impatient can lead to harmful situations. The two didn't see the look that their partners are giving them, if they did then they would have defended their actions.

"**Fuckin' hell." Qrow said holstering his pistol and grabbing his EMP grenade and pulls the pin. Blake looks up just in time to see him throw the grenade in the room and enters just as the grenade goes off plunging the room into darkness.**

"See." Yang said while Ruby shook her head slowly at her uncle actions.

"Such recklessness." Ozpin said also shaking his head recalling the times Qrow and his sister would always rush into situations. As a result Summer and Tai would always have to bail the two out of trouble.

Once again Weiss and Blake look to Yang and Ruby along with JNPR who have heard of their exploits.

Summer recalled all the times she had to wrangle in Qrow and Raven, with the help of Tai of course.

**In the armory Qrow removes his mask and lowers his hood, his salt and pepper hair finally getting fresh air after two hours of wearing his mask. Walking over to one of the gun cages he types in the code to unlock it and opens it only for Blake to come up behind him and shut the cage door closed. **

"Someone is angry." Yang said stating the obvious.

"I imagine anyone would be if their partner didn't tell them what they are doing" Pyrrha said looking to Jaune who looked away knowing that she is referring to him not telling his team about his transcripts.

"**Don't worry, maybe we'll get it right next time." He tells her remembering when he was a recruit that always wanted to win.**

"**Two more seconds and we would have had eyes in the room." Blake says letting go the cage door allowing Qrow to open it and enter and close it behind him. Grabbing the door again she looks at Qrow.**

"**If they were already on cameras. That's two seconds two slow." Qrow responds holding up two fingers to emphasize his point before closing the cage door.**

"He brings up a good point." James said having been in similar situations.

"At the same time, he could have been wrong." Kali said defending her daughter. "This is why communication is important between partners."

Everyone agreed with Kali, especially those that are married since communication is important to keeping their marriage going.

**Blake holds up her own two fingers in a mocking gesture to Qrow before leaving to his thoughts. Sitting on the bench Qrow runs a hand through his hair wondering why Six paired him up with Blake instead of his normal team.**

"A true Hunter can adapt to any situation. Even if it's being assigned to a new team." Port said getting nods from the veteran Hunters and Huntress's.

"You need to be able to cooperate with any Hunter you meet in the field." Leon said getting more nods of agreement.

"Perhaps we should have a week or two where we have teammates switch teams." Glynda suggested to Ozpin as a way to switch things up in their lesions.

"Agreed." Ozpin said taking a sip of his coffee.

Ruby grew pale at the notion of switching teams.

"**Piece of advice." **

**Blake looks up from an article on her tablet when she hears Qrow speak behind her. Looking up she sees Qrow holding a knife which he shows her.**

"**No lag, that." He tells her setting the knife down on the shelf behind her before leaving Blake alone who goes back to reading the article.**

"Hate to say it, but he's right." Leon said as he himself uses a simple great sword that isn't a mechashift weapon.

Ruby crossed her arms and slouched in her seat pouting at the slander of a Hunter not using a mechashift weapon.

"It's a delicate balance between old and new." Ozpin said thinking of himself and all the times he's been reborn to see new technology emerge while he himself is a relic of a bygone age.

"**He has no respect for anything. If it doesn't fire a bullet or explode, he dismisses it!" Blake says now talking to man who has short green hair, round glasses and wearing a dress shirt with a yellow stripped tie who is sitting down and listening to Blake vent.**

"Oobleck?" The staff said surprised to see the energetic professor.

"Dr. Oobleck!' The green haired professor yelled correcting his colleagues.

"**Look at this!" Blake holds up the knife that Qrow gave her. "No lag."**

"**Oh, careful. My wife has a strict policy about knives in the house." The man says getting out of the chair and taking the knife from Blake. "And I have a strict policy about not pissing off my wife" Setting the knife down on the table next to him.**

"A good policy to adopt." Leon said and every married man agreed. All of them shivering at the memory of their angry wives and having that anger directed at them.

"**I know Qrow is supposed to be the best, but he's a hammer and I'm—I'm just a nail to him!" She yells in frustration while the man turns around and gestures to the chair that he was sitting on.**

"**Sit. Sit, it won't bite." Gesturing to the chair again Blake sighs as she sits in the chair cross legged. "You're angry, that's good." The man turns off the recorder that one would see in a therapist's office before facing Blake. "Anger—anger can be a powerful tool, but we're terrified of losing control, of embracing it." The man tells Blake sitting on the edge of the table.**

"**And that's why I envy Qrow."**

"Wise words." Raven said knowing how well anger can turn a fight your way. It can also save a person with life threatening wounds. Like Oobleck said, "Anger can be a powerful tool".

"Never thought that someone would be envious of Qrow." Tai said to his wife earning a giggle from her while Qrow ignored him and focused on the screen wondering what he is like in this universe.

**The sounds of the ocean waves crashing against the beach can be heard before the body of woman floats towards the beach. Splashing can be heard as a person enters the water and grabs the woman, lifting her out of the water.**

"Raven?" Summer said surprised to see her partner floating in the water.

Raven didn't say anything as she too focused on the screen wondering just what happened to her. From the looks of it she isn't the feared bandit here like back in her world line.

"**Qrow faced his demons."**

Upon hearing that, Ozpin looked down at the coffee to see his reflection looking back at him. The difference is that the face looking back at Ozpin is the face he was born with. Brown eyes looked back at him and he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him upon seeing his original face looking back at him. Ozma then shifted to a look of disappointment before snarling and changing. Ozpin looked back at his reflection in horror as Ozma shifted into the Salem.

Closing his eyes Ozpin took a moment to calm his nerves before looking back at the coffee to see his current face looking back at him. _'How long has it been since I've faced my demons?'_

**Qrow lifts the woman up and carries her to rusty ship that has seen better days.**

"**He knows how to channel his anger."**

**Qrow hammers a board in place while the woman sleeps and is awoken by the sound of the hammer. Turning over the woman shows a bruise over her right eye.**

"**Qrow?" The woman asks recognizing him. "Your retirement plans come to shite?"**

"**Who beat ya?" Qrow asks holding the hammer tightly.**

Qrow upon seeing the bruise on his sister's face clenches his fists tightly. Raven may be a shit mother and ex wife but she is still his sister. They may not always agree with each other but they are still family.

Tai like Qrow felt anger rising in him at the sight of Raven with a black eye. She may have left him and Yang behind to resume her old life but she was his first wife and the mother of his oldest daughter but that didn't mean he hated her.

Yang also felt her anger rise at the sight of her mother clearly having been beaten.

Suffice to say the Xio Long and Branwen family are not happy with the sight of Raven with a black eye.

"**Come on, leave it alone." The woman says now sitting upright. "It was a misunderstanding."**

**Qrow walks over to the woman and lifts her up. "Who beat ya, Raven?" He asks again.**

"**It was Junior and his boys." Raven tells him causing him to sigh as he lets go of her and walks over to the side rail. "It's just them bending me elbow a bit."**

"Junior…" Yang whispered recalling the information broker/gangster/bar owner that didn't know where her mother was and as a result she trashed the bar and put all of his men in the hospital.

"What's with the accents?" Ruby asked thinking that their accents are a little weird and funny to hear.

"That was our original accent, kid." Qrow said slightly going back to his original accent. "Over time we lost it 'cept for when we get drunk."

Ruby chuckled at Qrow's original accent that came out slightly earning a chuckle from Tai and Yang.

"**How much this time?"**

"**Five large." **

**Qrow sighs as he leans on the rail and looks at the hammer in his hands. **

"**Oh, now, come on, Qrow." Raven pleads holding her side in pain. "Don't do this."**

"So, the roles are reversed." Qrow mumbled thinking back to their childhood where Raven was always looking out for him and playing the big sister even though she was born two minutes before him. According to Raven that made her the big sister and he the little brother.

Raven felt disgusted with herself for being weak and relying on Qrow for help. Her onscreen self even told Qrow to not get involved. _'I can handle it myself.'_

**Qrow enters the bar that Junior owns after hours and locks the door behind him.**

"Someone is getting an ass kicking." Yang said excited at seeing her uncle in action again.

Everyone is anxious to see how Qrow fights without his trusty scythe.

"**I need you to pay Roman a visit and remind him of the debt he owes." Junior tells one of his men before the bartender gestures to the entrance. Looking over his shoulder Junior and the rest of his goons see Qrow reaching into his jacket and pulls out a small roll of Lien.**

"**Here's the money me sister owes ya." Throwing the money at Junior, Qrow moves to the pool table and runs his hand over the wood finish. "But what comes next, my good sons, is from the God's mouth to your ears, and I will make it hurt." **

"Here it comes." Summer said recognizing Qrow's body language and how he tenses up before a fight.

**One of Junior's men leaves the bar and approaches Qrow who grabs a pool ball and throws it in the air before catching it. "For the rest of your miserable fucking lives." Throwing the pool ball at the goon which impacts him in the face and breaks his nose. The rest of the goons spring into action and charge Qrow. **

Everyone in the audience wince at the sound of the pool ball impacting against the nose of the thug.

"Been a while since I've had a good bar brawl." Qrow said relaxing in his chair and taking in the sight of him kicking ass.

**Junior leads the charge and throws a punch at Qrow who ducks under the swing and punches him in the throat. Disoriented, Junior runs into the pool table and falls to the ground as another goon throws a haymaker which Qrow blocks with his arm and quickly moves behind the man and wraps his arm wound his stomach. Lifting the man up Qrow slams the man into the bar knocking over the bottles of liquor.**

"He has no proper form." Glynda said internally analyzing the fight so she could point out useful lessons to her students.

"In a bar fight, no form is needed." Leon said just as Qrow was about to say something surprising everyone, including his wife who looked shocked to hear such a thing. "I was young." Leon simply said shrugging his shoulders. "Everyone is focused on ending the fight quickly so they will use everything in reach to achieve it. That doesn't leave a lot of time to fight properly."

"What he said." Qrow added.

**The first guy that Qrow knocked out gets back up and reaches for a pool cue and uses it as a weapon. The man hits Qrow in the back breaking the pool cue, unfazed by the attack Qrow approaches the man who holds the remaining pool cue who swings again and again,Qrow ducks under the swing and hits the man in the kidney. The man holds his sides in pain giving Qrow an opening as he punches the man in the face knocking him out.**

"See what I mean." Leon said nodding towards the screen. Yang recalled her fight in the bar thinking how many of Junior's thugs used makeshift weapons on her. Of course, she wiped the floor with them and got arrested and had to be bailed out by her father who was not happy with her.

"**Come on." Qrow tells Junior when he gets to his knees and charges Qrow knocking him into the bar and punches him in the stomach which doesn't faze Qrow as he uses his elbow to hit Junior in the back and drags him off by the collar of his shirt and punches him in the throat before kicking him back onto the pool table. Grabbing his feet Qrow pulls Junior off the pool table and onto the floor.**

"**Hello, Junior." Qrow kneels next to Junior now brandishing his hammer that he had hidden in his coat. "How's your mom?" Twirling the hammer in his hand before slamming the hammer into the ground a few inches from Junior's head getting a shriek from the information broker. Rising to his feet Qrow leaves the hammer buried into the marble floor as he unlocks the front door and leaves the club and Junior behind.**

"Would have been easier to kill him." Raven said crossing her arms.

"Do you always deal in absolute?" Ghira asked curious to hear her answer.

"Strength rules the weak and fear controls them." Raven said turning in her seat to face Ghira. "Hunters protect the weak from the Grimm while the kingdoms use fear to control the populace. It's how the world works, no matter how much you try to dress it up or ignore it. It will always be there."

"We can argue the issue later." Ozpin said silencing the two from getting into a yelling match about who is right and who is wrong.

"**This isn't about how Qrow's been treating you is it?" The man asks Blake who sighs.**

"**It's—I'm just tired of trying to prove myself." Blake uncrosses her legs and leans forward.**

"**It'll take time for some, but you are nobody's nail." The man explains pointing to Blake. "You're much too sharp for that. Rainbow needs people who will challenge the future of the unit, and—and those who are reminded of it's roots." Pointing to the knife before grabbing it. "It needs people who can be the scalpel and the hammer." The man said before handing the knife back to Bake.**

"Truer words have never been spoken." Ozpin said while looking to RWBY and JNPR. RWBY could be considered the Hammer with them always running into dangerous situations. JNPR is the Scalpel with them always providing support to RWBY and always carrying out their assigned missions with precision.

"**Thank you, Six." Blake takes the knife back and holds it in her hands as Six passes by her.**

"**Six. She left some very large shoes to fill, didn't she?" Six says removing his glasses and looking at a board that has a map of Remnant and different information pinned to the wall as well as some yarn connecting thumbtacks together. "I'll tell you what." Turning around to face Blake, Six puts back on his glasses and smiles.**

"**For now, please call me Bart."**

**Rainbow Six: Siege **

"I would like to see more of this world." James said interested in some of the training that the counter terrorist Operatives go through and if he can take notes on their tactics so they could incorporate them into their world' military.

"I would too." Winter said wanting to see more of her sister in action and to see what their relationship is like.

"I might show more in the future." Spart told them earning nods from them as they watched the next trailer for the next universe.

**A man is running from gunfire but is shot in the back while another is taking cover behind a tree truck and returning fire when he can.**

**In another scene two men are inside a helicopter that is spinning out of control. One of the men has a blonde stubble and is wearing a baseball cap in reverse with a headset over it. He is wearing a red shirt with tan cargo pants and his wearing a vest. The other is wearing a black shirt and has a bandanna covering the lower part of his face.**

"That's Jaune." Ren said worried for his team leader who appears to be in a bad situation.

"What's going on?" Leon asked worried for his son's safety.

"in this world Jaune is apart of a elite military unit named Ghost Recon." Spart told them earning James and Winter attention.

"So Ghost Recon is similar to the Specialists." James said wondering how these Ghosts fair compared to Atlas Specialists.

"In some ways yes, in others no." Spart said getting James' attention once again. "Ghost Recon operatives don't announce themselves, nor do they wear any identifying emblems to show that they are a Ghost. Their motto is "Credit is failure"."

"Impressive." Ozpin said drinking his coffee as he focused back on the screen wondering what Jaune is capable of in this universe.

**The next scene shows the flaming helicopter wreckage in the jungle. A figure wearing a long olive drab hooded coat and a mask that is hiding their face. The figure is aiming a revolver at another person on the ground who is holding their hands up in surrender.**

**Jaune watches from the shadows as the masked, hooded figure kill the man on the ground. The flash from the gun momentarily lights up their mask.**

"Wonder who's under the mask." Yang said leaning forward in her seat.

"Maybe we'll see by the end of the trailer." Weiss said.

"They wouldn't reveal the main villain in the trailer. That's just dumb." Yang said leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms.

'_BVS, Terminator: Gensys. To name a few.' _Spart thought to himself and remained silent as the trailer resumed.

**The scene changes to show an island before transitioning back to the jungle where Jaune is hiding behind a tree and holding a soldier by his mask with a knife pulled out. Four soldiers dressed similar to the masked hooded figure patrol the jungle looking for Jaune. Once the group passes, Jaune lets the body of the soldier fall to the ground before looking up and seeing a drone above the trees.**

"Oh, no." Ruby said worried for her friend.

**On a screen the lead masked hooded soldier sees Jaune's heat signature running through the jungle from the drone before it loses sight of him. Looking up from the tablet the masked hooded soldier gestures for the others to move out.**

**Two squads of soldiers move through the jungle with ease and precision looking for Jaune.**

"**I am a Ghost. An elite soldier."**

**Three masked soldiers look at the river stream for Jaune but don't see him. Under the soldiers feet is a small alcove hidden by the tree roots and Jaune is hiding there. Looking up Jaune scowls before retreating back in the darkness to hide until the soldiers move on.**

"**Trained to strike my enemies before they know I exist."**

**The lead masked hooded figure kneels down next to the soldier that Jaune killed and turns the head to better see the dead soldier before rising to their feet and drawing the knife from the sheathe on the front of their vest.**

Ruby squints her eyes to better see the knife and spots a small rose engraved on the blade near the handle. Feeling a sense of dread she doesn't voice her concerns after all she isn't the only one who uses a rose as their emblem.

**Jaune clenches his fist in pain while lightning lights up the area around him.**

"**Death stalks me."**

**Raising his left leg reveals a piece of metal embedded in his thigh. Taking several deep breathes before grabbing the metal shard and pulling it out of his thigh; Jaune grits his teeth to keep from screaming.**

"**But I survive."**

No one speaks as they watch the trailer. Summer frowns at what Jaune says on screen about being stalked by death. A Hunter's life is always stalked by death and not all of them are lucky enough to survive.

The Arc family feel the familiar urge to protect their son/brother.

**The lead masked hooded soldier strangles a prisoner killing them before moving on to the next.**

"**Overcoming an obstacle."**

**Jaune is now climbing a hill covered in snow while a snowstorm is raging. Finally reaching the top Jaune sees a cabin and walks towards it before falling to his knees in exhaustion. Behind him is a soldier with red hair tied into a pony tail with a single strand loose, she is wearing a black shirt with a light combat vest and black and grey cargo pants. She sees Jaune and helps him stand up and helps him walk to the cabin.**

"Pyrrha, it's you." Nora said pointing out the obvious. "I wonder if we are going to see our friends as well."

"**Never surrendering."**

**The doors to a facility are blown open allowing the masked soldiers to enter the building killing the security personal with efficiency, directly behind them is their leader carrying their revolver and is flanked by three more soldiers wearing gear similar to the leader with some difference.**

"**And with my brothers and sisters at my side."**

**Jaune and his teammate Pyrrha enter a small armory, opening a weapons case Pyrrha grabs an assault rifle and throws it to Jaune. Catching the rifle Jaune checks over the rifle before loading a magazine and aiming at an imaginary target to test the sights.**

"**There is no fight we fear."**

"Hunters are the same." Bart said drinking his coffee and holds the mug out. A droid appears and refills the mug before leaving. "Hunters are dangerous when they work together in teams of four. Sadly most chose to operate solo thinking themselves capable of tackling any foe."

Summer thinks back to her last assignment and how Tai offered to help. She declined the offer telling him that she can handle it and in the end, she died because she forgot the basic rule for every Hunter. "Never hunt alone".

**In clean facility a drone is being outfitted with an assault rifle before being activated. The drone flies out of the facility followed by many more combat drones. The leader of the masked soldiers is standing on a platform overlooking the island with their arms crossed over their chest looking to the distance.**

**A combat SUV is driving down a dirt road with Jaune at the wheel while Pyrrha and Nora, another one of Jaune's new squad provide cover from the combat drones pursing them. Nora wields a LMG and is doing her best to hit the drones and so is Pyrrha but she gets shot in the shoulder. Screaming in pain before drawing her pistol and manages to shoot a drone but doesn't destroy it as it continues to pursue the SUV.**

"**We are Ghosts. We aren't afraid of death."**

**Ahead of the SUV are two unmanned drones that are designed for ground combat blocking the road. Two panels rise up before sliding back as two large caliber turrets rise from the body and fire at the SUV.**

**Jaune swerves to avoid the incoming fire as Nora fires at the combat vehicles in front of them. Reaching into his bag Jauen pulls out a block of C4 and places it on the dashboard before jumping out of the SUV as do the others. The SUV drives into the drone combat vehicles throwing off their aim. Jaune and Pyrrha recover and draw their weapons and fire upon the flying drones while Nora grabs her rocket launcher and fires a rocket at the SUV detonating the C4 and destroying the ground combat drones in the explosion.**

"Take that dumb machines!" Nora yelled throwing her fist in the air. "Team JNPR for the win."

Jaune smiled at Nora's outburst already used to it.

"**So when you take the life of my brothers."**

**On the platform a helicopter lands and the rest of the elite soldiers step out and stand behind their leader.**

**The scene transitions to show Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora walking across a volcanic landscape to meet with their last teammate.**

"**When you provoke me."**

**Ren hears them approaching and turns around to see them and gets to his feet carrying his sniper rifle. Jaune and Ren shake hands.**

"What are you wearing, Ren?" Nora asked before giggling at what onscreen Ren is wearing. "You look like a fluffy sheep."

"It's called a ghillie suit." Emilia said from her seat. "They are still used today in the military by snipers. They did see plenty of action in the Faunus Rebellion as a way of hiding from the eyes of the Faunus. They are also surprising comfortable."

"Did you serve in the military?" Jaune asked his mother.

"Yes, I'll tell you later." Emilia told her son.

"**It doesn't matter how powerful you are. I will burn your world to the ground."**

**Jaune and the rest of new team look to the distance where the drone manufacturing facility is.**

**Meanwhile the leader of the masked soldiers removes their hood and their mask as do the rest of the elite soldiers. Removing the lower half of the mask reveals a feminine pair of lips before removing the top half of the mask to reveal a pair of silver eyes.**

Everyone in the audience looks to both Summer and Ruby as they are the only ones with silver eyes. No one said anything as they wanted to see who it is.

**One of the elite soldiers removes their mask to reveal amber eyes.**

**Another, blue eyes.**

**And finally, lilac eyes.**

**The leader holds the mask under their arm and steps forward. The leader is a woman in her late thirties, her short black hair with red tip is in a bob cut and offset.**

"Ruby?" Yang said surprised to see her sister all grown up and looking so much like their mother. Not to mention that she is the bad guy in this universe since she's leading her own military force. "Does that mean?" she asked suddenly remembering all the eye colors that match their own.

**One of the elite soldiers is woman with blonde hair that is tied into a low ponytail, her lilac eyes hold rage.**

**Another has snow white hair that is cut short to just below her shoulders, the most noticeable trait is the scar running down her left eye.**

**The last has black hair that is pulled back into a ponytail and she has two cat ears perched on top her head.**

"**I'm a Ghost too. I would expect nothing less."**

**Ruby's voice says as her team and Wolves stand beside her.**

**Ghost Recon: Breakpoint **

"So we're the bad guys." Blake said sloughing in her seat and her bow drooped as well. Weiss was speechless upon seeing herself looking so… so… badass. She looked so cool in full body armor and with short hair. _'Been hanging around Yang too much.' _Weiss thought and shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Winter felt conflicted about her sister being the bad guy in this universe. _'Does that mean Jaune and his team have to fight them?'_

"Every universe is different from the others. No two are exactly the same." Spart told the group. "In this universe Ruby and her team are former Ghosts that have gone rogue. Jaune and is new team have been sent in to find and eliminate Ruby's team, The Wolves."

"So, we're enemies." Ruby said saddened by the news.

"Cheer up little sis. Here the two of you are best friends." Yang said throwing an arm around Ruby and brought her into a one arm hug instantly cheering her up. Just in time as the next trailer appeared.

"**There are six Sirens in the universe. I used to be one of them."**

**A woman walks through the shadows; the only light is coming from the glowing blue tattoos on her left arm and across her chest. Her orange eyes glowing in the darkness.**

"**My name is Pyrrha and I need you."**

**Pyrrha steps out of the shadows, she is wearing a dark green tank top with a small leather vest that has a fur collar, the left sleeve is attached while the right is removed. Her red hair is cut short to the nape of her neck and combed to the right. The tattoos that are glowing are no longer visible on her body and Pyrrha points to the camera as the screen changes to show an aerial view of a desert that has rock formations.**

"That looks like some area in Vacuo." Sun said recognizing some of the rock formations.

"What's a Siren?' Wiess asked.

"I'll explain when we get to this universe." Spart told her before focusing back on the screen.

**The camera flies down to the ground to show five vehicles that are armed and driving through the desert. The cars drive over a small gap before the meet armed bandits charging a group of four holding them and their backup off.**

**The four split up and fight.**

**One of the four is a short woman wearing a combat helmet and a leather jacket that has a large pauldronover the right shoulder runs at a group of bandits before leaping into the air and pressing a button on her gauntlet. A metal frame materializes around her and soon a large mech complete with dual machine gun arms forms around the girl. The machine gun arms spin up and open fire on the bandits killing them and destroying their combat vehicles.**

**In the cockpit seat is the girl who has silver eyes and black stripes under her eyes. Stands of black hair with red tips can be seen from under her helmet.**

**RUBY, "The Gunner."**

"I want the mech!" Ruby and Nora shouted at the same time eyeing the mech with stars in their eyes. Everyone who knows the girls are glad that they didn't have such a mech in their possession.

Ironwood eyed the design of the mech and say that in some areas it's a definite improvement over their own Paladins.

"The gunner?" Yang asked wondering why her little sister is named "The Gunner".

**In a different location a figure is wearing a large overcoat that runs at the enemies and fires his sniper rifle. The figure points at the bandits before three wild animals decloak from being invisible and charge the bandits mauling them to death. The figure kneels in front of the camera as the animals nuzzle him affectingly. The figure is revealed to be a robot with a glowing blue middle "eye" in the middle of its head.**

**IRONW00D, "The Beastmaster."**

Everyone looks to General of Atlas surprised to see him as machine. Penny is intrigued by the design of Ironw00d.

"Huh?" Qrow said shaking his head.

**A man with blonde hair and a robotic eye over his left eye is fighting the bandits. The man fires his weapon in short bursts before dropping the rifle and grabbing his pistol and resumes killing the bandits with efficiency before moving on to the next, assisting the man is a small drone. Activating a button on his gauntlet deploys a hologram that takes his place as he disappears just in time as a larger bandit appears and attacks the hologram. The man kills the large bandit from behind.**

**JAUNE ARC, "The Operative."**

Pyrrha looked to her teammate and wonders if he would be open to the idea of growing a beard. Twice now she has seen him with facial hair and she has to admit that it suits him.

Jaune saw Pyrrha looking at him and he smiled at her making her heart rate up and a blush to appear on her face that he couldn't see thanks to the low light in the theater.

"So we have a Gunner, Beastmaster, and now an Operative. Who's next?" Yang asked curios as to who is going to be shown next.

**In the middle of large crowd of bandits is a woman with blonde hair tied back into a high pony tail and purple tattoos running down the length of her left arm fighting a bandit in hand to hand combat. The woman dodges a punch before retaliating with her own knocking the bandit out. Moving on to her next opponent she comes face to face with a large bandit that has a prominent beer belly that absorbs her punch and pushes her back into another bandit that hits her from behind.**

**On her knees the woman wipes the sweat from her face before the tattoos on her arm glow blue similar to Pyrrha in the beginning. **

**YANG, "The Siren."**

"I'm a Siren?" Yang asked surprised as they don't know what a Siren entails except for having cool glowing tattoos.

**A blue explosion of energy explodes form Yang knocking the bandits back and killing them in the process. When the dust settles Yang is floating in the air, her yellow hair glowing bright yellow and six yellow glowing floating beside her, three arms on her left and on her right.**

"I want that power." Yang and Raven said at the same time both for different reasons.

Ozpin eyed the power of the Siren with awe having not seen something in their world even when magic existed.

'_Such power.' _Raven thought looking at the powerful display of power that her onscreen daughter holds.

**SHOOT**

**Ruby is shooting at a group of bandits that are running at her with melee weapons.**

**LOOT**

**A chest opens and many weapons are on display for the group to see and use.**

**UH…**

**Jaune now shoots a gun that shoots guns.**

"Ruby!" Yang shouted holding her sister who passed out upon seeing the gun that shoots guns and fanning her face. Meanwhile Ruby kept repeating the sentence.

"Must find a way to get that gun."

**SHLOOT?**

**Weiss is with a teenage girl with purple hair. Holding her palm out Weiss creates a glowing purple orb roughly the size of a medicine ball. The teenager tries her hardest to recreate the ball but can't as she lowers her hands in defeat.**

**Weiss closes her hand getting the purple orb to disappear as she puts a hand on the teenager's shoulder to cheer her up which works as the teenager smiles at Weiss.**

Winter looked to her little sister and couldn't see her as a teacher since her patience isn't exactly her strong suit. Maybe that changed in this universe she thought to herself after all in one universe she is the bad guy.

**A large woman with short black hair and red eyes wears a welding hood before lowering it with a wrench that she is holding in her hand and doing a twirl. Further from the woman is a man wearing nothing but his underwear and a pair of boot along with a white cape that appears to be a bed sheet. The man is holding two pistols that he is shooting in the air in joy before holding his arms out. The man has grey hair and a pair of black glasses perched on his nose.**

Qrow attempted to hold in his laughter at the sight of Raven being overweight but failed and clutched his sides in pain as laughter shook his body. Even Summer joined in on the laughter at the sight of her teammate.

Raven on the other hand didn't find the situation humorous and looked at her on screen self with loathing wondering how she could have become so large.

Glynda looked away embarrassed at seeing Ozpin wearing nothing but his tighty whities and boots, she didn't question the cape.

Ozpin looked at himself and saw himself decades ago when he lost his mind after being reborn and secluded himself away in a cave.

**A rifle is running on two small legs before jumping on stairs and climbing them. Following the running gun is a small orange and white robot that has two arms and a single wheel for legs, a blue lens rests in the middle acts as the eyes. The robot sees the gun running up the stairs before turning around and throwing its arms up in frustration.**

"******! No!" The robot screams in anguish.**

Once again Ruby passed out at the sight of the gun walking on two legs and vowed to make such a gun that can walk on two legs..

Everyone else chuckled at the sight of the gun running away from the robot and wondered why the robot doesn't simply climb the stairs.

**Two people a man and woman hold a piece in each hand before they bring them together and the pieces click together. The two look to the camera and smile, the man winks.**

**In the next scene two men are fighting the local wildlife. One of the men has a large hat and a white handlebar mustache; white hair can be seen under his hat. The other man has untamed hair that is sticking out in various directions and is wearing a charcoal suit.**

The Schnee family is surprised to see Whitley again fighting alongside another unknown man. They can't help but wonder what his role in this universe is.

**A tiger faunus wearing a leather jacket punches a bandit in the stomach making him fall over before kneeling beside the bandit and making a finger gun which she aims at the bandit's head before pulling the "trigger".**

Ilia looks to Sienna who not surprised to herself not with the White Fang, especially after the last universe that they watched. Like the Schnee family Sienna can't help but wonder what her onscreen self is like and what her role is in this universe.

**Ruby, Jaune, Ironw00d and Yang stand in front of a gold chest that opens and golden heavenly lights shines from the chest as the light dies down it is revealed that the chest contains guns that the four can use.**

**On a distance planet are hundreds of bandits are cheering for two people as they appear on stage above them.**

"**The Children of Salem is a psycho cult." **

**The two step onto the stage carrying guns which they shoot into the air stirring the crowd up as they cheer for the two. One is a male with grey hair and the other is a female with short black hair and bright amber eyes. These two are known as the Salem Twins.**

"**Ten trillion followers demand that we join or die."**

"Holy shit." Tai said surprised at the number of followers the Children of Salem has and is glad that such a cult doesn't exist in their world or they would all be worshiping the self-proclaimed mistress of the Grimm.

Ozpin thinks back to one of his lives where he did witness a cult emerge that did worship Salem but they never reached the number of followers such as the one in the universe being shown and is thankful that they died out long ago.

**The Twins sit in their makeshift throne as their followers enjoy themselves by acting crazy and other such debacle.**

"**We got another proposal for them."**

**Pyrrha is on the outskirts of the cult compound where she faces the camera and blows a kiss before throwing a middle finger at the camera. The gesture is blocked out by a black square.**

"My kind of message." Raven said approving of the message that on screen Pyrrha is displaying and used the same message herself on different occasions.

"We should deliver the same message to Salem." Qrow said over his shoulder to Ozpin who smiled at the suggestion and imagined Salem opening a package with a middle finger popping out like a jack in the box.

"I will deliver the message personally." Summer said with a edge in her voice which many in the room could understand. She did die because Salem ordered her minions too and as a result missed out on seeing her daughters grow up and other important milestones in their lives.

**Pyrrha is walking into the compound with the four behind her. She turns around and throws her fist in the air giving them the single to let loose which they do and engage the cult.**

**Running down a street Jaune fires his rifle while he is moving and calls in his hologram just in time as a enraged behemoth jumps on the hologram ignoring the real Jaune. Yang calls upon her Siren powers and summons the six glowing arms that fly at the giant behemoth and hit him square in the chest making the behemoth fly back before exploding. With the way clear Yang and Jaune continue to run and gun while Ruby leaps onto a stack of crates and leap off.**

"Break their legs!" Nora shouted at the screen with glee at the all the action that is happening on screen.

Glynda is watching the four work together and is happy to see them working well and watching each other's back while they fight and wonders who trained them.

Everyone else is caught up in the action and rooting for the four to kick the Children of Salem ass and put down the cult for good.

**Summoning her mech in midair, Ruby sits in the cockpit as the heavy foot of the mech crushes a bandit under its weight. Ironw00d leaps onto the back of mech and takes control of the turret on its back. **

**Working together the four clear a way to the main fortress for the cult. **

**Yang jumps in the air summons her arms again before slamming into the ground causing a shockwave that blow away the other bandits in the area. **

**Standing on top of the stairs the four look at the massive walls of the fortress. **

**Yang summons her arms beside her to prepare for the coming fight.**

**Ruby exits her mech as it stands behind her. She reaches into one of the pouches and pulls out a stick of gum and throws it into her mouth. Grabbing her rifle Ruby checks the magazine before blowing a bubble made out of gum.**

**Ironw00d calls upon his beasts which stand beside him. Petting one of them while the others pee on the dead bandits.**

**Jaune summons his hologram and drone as he looks upon the fortress and the army of bandits standing in their way.**

**BORDERLANDS 3**

"We are badass!" Yang shouted at the top of her lungs and posing in her seat which made the others laugh at her antics.

"I admit that was fun to watch." James said fondly recalling memories of his youth when he was reckless.

"This will be the last one before dinner is served." Spart told the group as they focused back on the screen as the next trailer is starting.

**On a bus sits Jaune looking a little on the thin side. In the seat in front of him sits a child looking bored. Jaune covers his face with his hands before opening them and making a silly face making the child laugh. Jaune makes more silly faces making the child laugh before the mother of the child turns in her seat to face Jaune.**

"**Can you please stop bothering my kid?" The mother asks giving Jaune a look like's he's crazy.**

"**Sorry." Jaune apologizes sitting back in his seat.**

"Jeez, some people." Tai said recalling how some parents are with their children.

"Missing some meals there Jaune." Yang said commenting on how Jaune looks in this universe.

The Arc family is worried about their son/brother since he's so thin as are the girls who have a crush on him.

"**Jaune, I have some bad news for you."**

**Jaune enters a hospital before the scene changes to show Jaune tightening his shoes too tight for his feet. The scene shifts again to show Jaune walking down a corridor buttoning up his shirt before laughing.**

Everyone in the audience is put off by the sound of Jaune laughing. To them it sounded forced and painful to do added to that they just saw him tightening his shoes way to tight.

"What is happening to you." Velvet whispered to herself at the sight of her crush.

"**This is the last time we'll be meeting." Jaune's therapist tells him as he looks at her sitting behind her desk.**

"**You don't listen do you?"**

**Jaune now at his job wearing clown makeup and holding a sign before a person knocks it out of his hands.**

"What a bunch of jerks." Ruby yelled at the screen and at the men for picking on her friend and crush.

"**You just ask the same questions every week."**

**Jaune chases after the people who knocked his sign out of his hands into an alleyway where he is hit in the face with his own sign before getting beat up and left on the ground in the alley.**

Those that know the knight feel anger building up in them at the sight of Jaune getting beat up. Jaune himself thinks back to when he first entered Beacon and wondered if that's how weak he was compared to now.

"in this universe Jaune was never accepted into Beacon and didn't want to go back home as it would mean admitting defeat. So, he stayed in Vale taking any job that was offered to him. Over time he slowly lost faith in his abilities to be a Hunter." Spart said giving them a little backstory on this universe that they are watching.

The Arc family and both teams felt sorrow at the notion of Jaune not getting into Beacon and being forced to do jobs that he doesn't enjoy. What got them was hearing that Jaune is losing his dreams of being a hunter.

Jaune lowered his head and wondered how close this universe was to being his reality in the main world line.

Ozpin wondered what could have led to his counterpart in this universe to reject Jaune and briefly looked to Glynda knowing that she must have screened the applicants a second time and a red flag must have appeared on mister Arc's transcripts.

"**How's your job? Are you having any negative thoughts?"**

**Jaune is now shirtless in his apartment kitchen, his upper torso is covered in bruises before the scene changes back to the therapist's office to show Jaune smoking.**

"**All I have are negative thoughts." Jaune tells his therapist who isn't surprised at the news.**

"Jaune…" Nora said thinking back to her own childhood when she contemplated ending her life after having negative thoughts for so long. Even after meeting Ren the thoughts persisted and continue to whisper in the back of her mind that she is worthless and a waste of space like the children of her past repeatedly told her.

Feeling something engulf her hand, looking at her Jaune showed it to be Jaune's own hand holding her own.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned when he saw tears appearing in the corners of Nora's eyes. Nora gave a shaking nod that didn't convince him as he brought her into a hug that Nora cherished as they always chased away the bad thoughts much like Ren did only different.

Everyone looked away from the hugging teens back to the screen to give them privacy.

**Jaune is now sitting a hospital room next to a patient as the TV plays in the background. The announcer of the program comes on and talks to the audience.**

"**And finally, in a world where everyone thinks they can do my job. Check out this guy."**

**Jaune recognizes the announcer and goes to get a better view of the TV where the screen changes to show Jaune in the spotlight.**

"**When I was a little boy, and told people that was going to be a comedian. Everyone laughed at me. Well, no one's laughing now."**

Jaune looks back at the screen as Nora continues to hug thinking back to his second dream of being a comedian after being a heroic Hunter.

**The clip ends and the screen goes back to the announcer who looks back the audience.**

"**You can say that again, pal." The audience laughs at the jab at Jaune and Jaune in the hospital room just looks at the TV screen.**

"That meanie." Ruby said frowning at the man who made fun of her friend. Everyone wonders how Jaune is going to respond.

**A train passes by the station before showing a person throwing a clown mask in the trash. Changing again to show Jaune wearing a red suit smiling at something in the distance. Another scene shows a man exiting a building on the TV before switching to show a large crowd holding signs in protest. One of the signs says 'We are all clowns'.**

**Jaune is now in a elevator with a woman holding a large paper bag in her arms leaning against the wall in boredom. "It's so awful isn't it?" She asks before the screen changes once again to show Jaune applying his clown makeup. Opening his mouth to stick out his tongue Jaune licks the makeup brush still covered in white makeup.**

**Exiting his apartment Jaune is now wearing a red suit with a orange waist coat and his face is painted like a clowns. The face paint is different in that it's slightly askew and his blonde hair is dyed green. The scene shifts again to show Jaune dancing on stair steps.**

"Jaune…" Pyrrha whispers concerned for her crush and slightly scared of him embracing his inner madness and also for his new clown look. The blonde hair that she loves are now dyed green combined with the make up is covering all the aspects that make Jaune who he is.

"**For my whole life, I didn't know if I even really existed."**

**Jaune is now in a club smiling as the spotlight is now on him. The woman from the elevator is also there and smiling. The scene changes to show Jaune looking at a drawing of clown with sharp teeth snarling, Jaune does an impression of the drawing before something catches his attention.**

**In the back of a taxi is a person wearing a clown mask, Jaune smiles at the person wearing the mask as the taxi passes.**

Nora lets go of Jaune and looks at the screen when she heard Jaune saying the same thing that she told herself many times throughout her youth. "You do exist." She said speaking to Jaune on screen and to herself.

"**But I do. People are starting to notice."**

**Jaune is now in the middle of a protest wandering through the crowds enjoying himself judging from his smile. The scene changes to show Jaune kissing the woman from the elevator before changing again. Jaune is in front of the mirror shirtless and only wearing the white makeup on his face.**

"**You think this is funny?**

**Jaune's laugh can be heard as different scenes appear. Jaune slamming his head against a cage and running down a hall.**

"**This a joke to you?" A young blonde woman asks Jaune who is laughing at her before getting punched.**

Everyone looks to Yang surprised that she would assault Jaune. Ruby knows that she has some – okay, a lot of anger issues but she isn't one to just punch someone for no reason.

**An ambulance crashes into a car before showing Jaune wearing his new clown makeup and smoking as he watches something.**

**Police are trying to contain a riot of people wearing clown masks in a train station and Jaune is in the middle of it putting on a clown mask.**

"**Edin Murray, one small thing." Jaune address the guy from the TV program that made fun of him earlier now looking older. Jaune is now wearing his red suit with his new clown makeup with his green hair.**

"**Yeah?" Murray asks looking to Jaune.**

"**When you bring me out. Can you introduce me as Joker?" Jaune asks putting his hands in his pockets while Murray looks to his producer before the scene changes again to show Jaune in what appears to be a hospital wearing a doctor's coat and his old clown makeup before changing to show Jaune kicking a wall repeatedly and changing once again to show Jaune in his Joker appearance walking down a tunnel while police officers run in the opposite direction.**

**Another scene shows a person running down a hallway carrying a gas grenade that is spewing green gas. **

**Jaune is in the restroom wearing his Joker makeup and slowly dancing to a tune that only he can hear.**

**JOKER**

**Backstage of the show that Murray is hosting Jaune strikes a pose as the curtains pull apart and the spotlights hit him bathing him in light.**

The lights come back on as the screen fades to black. Everyone in the audience doesn't know what to think about the Joker universe since it depicts Jaune embracing the madness within him and projecting that onto the world around him.

Ozpin can't help but wonder that if by denying Jaune the chance to enter Beacon that he just created a villain that would shake the foundations of Vale and Remnant. Shaking the thoughts away, Ozpin back to his own world line where he did accept Jaune into Beacon.

All of the girls that have a crush on the blonde knight are slightly scared of the Joker Jaune and everything he represents. All the hopes and dreams dashed by the reality of the world around him and not getting into Beacon.

"Well, if you'll all follow me. I'll show you the dinning hall." Spart said floating to the front of the audience knowing that they want to discuss what they have just seen and to talk about things weighing on them.

Spart floated past the audience as they rose out of their seats and followed him out of the theater.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter done. Thank you to everyone who is enjoying the story. The next chapter will be the dinner and talking chapter then the next showing which will be one chapter on its own.**

**I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be out as I have college classes and work eating up all my time. Plus Death Stranding will be coming out soon but it will come out when I finish it. So please be patient. **

**Thank you.**

**\\[T]/**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello everyone, I'm back. Hope everyone is doing well during this crazy time. No reaction this time but rather a filler chapter. **

**I already have the reaction planned for next time just need to finish writing the reactions.**

* * *

Spart led everyone out of the theater and into the lobby where he took another door that lead into a hallway. Everyone was quiet after seeing the Joker Jaune as they followed Spart who opened a set of large double doors that revealed a grand dining hall with a large table set in the middle of the hall with the correct number of seats to accommodate them.

"Please take a seat and think of what you would to eat and my helpers will bring it out." Spart told them as they took their seats. The Arc family sat together with the exception of Jaune who sat with his team as did the members of RWBY.

Blake thought of smoked salmon with a side of vegetables and some tea and before she could say "fish" a droid wearing a chef hat appeared from the kitchen. The chef droid gently laid the plate down in front of Blake while another droid appeared and set down a cup and poured some hot tea for Blake when a larger droid appeared and gently placed a fig on the salmon before leaving. Eyeing the plate of salmon in front of Blake caused her to drool as did her mother and everyone in the room as they ordered their meals.

Once the food was delivered everyone dug in and ate in silence as they enjoyed the rich flavors of the food and drinks. Halfway through the dinner, conversations started up between parents and their children and among teammates.

Bart decided to ask the question that has been on his mind after the second viewing.

"Spart, are there other universes dedicated to others besides Mr. Arc?"

"Indeed, there are." Spart answered before bringing up multiple screens around the dinner table that showed different universes that focused on other members of team RWBY and JNPR. "There are thousands of universes that span the multiverse that focus on other people beside Jaune Arc. I however find him much more interesting than the rest of you. No offense." He told the members of teams RWBY and JNPR.

"No big deal." Yang said putting down her double bacon cheeseburger. "So, just how many universes are there?"

"I just said thousands and you saw the book. There are too many to keep track of and name."

"Have there been any issues of universes crossing with one another?" Bart asked now curious.

"Yes, many in fact. They are known as cross over events." Spart began explaining as two different planets appeared in the middle of the table, one blue and the other red. "These are rare and happen when an author such as myself creates a tunnel of sorts that connects the two universes together." A purple tunnel appeared linking the two planets together.

"Now, a person or persons will get transported from one universe to the other." A single red dot from the red planets appeared in the tunnel and soon ended up on the blue planet. "Of course, there are rare occasions where something else will tag along for the ride. Something that isn't friendly."

"Fascinating." Bart said soaking up the information and also getting a refill on his coffee.

"Then there are what is known as merger events. Where one universe will consume another." Spart continued his explanation and to show his point the red planet changed into a red cloud that consumed the blue planet. "As a result of this a new universe is created where it will have elements of both universes." Soon the planet changed into a purple one. "Keep in mind that merger events are really rare and can happen naturally or in most cases triggered by authors such as myself."

"Remarkable, truly remarkable." Bart said after taking another sip of his coffee. "To be able to witness such an event must be a sight to see."

"It truly is Doctor. It truly is." Spart agreed. "Any other questions?"

"Are there any specific categories for the multiverse?" Bart asked again.

"Yes, there are." Spart told before bringing screens that surrounded the table. "There is the Dark 'Verse. In which Jaune has either been betrayed by his friends or family and goes to the Dark Side. So to speak." On the screens showed standing next to Salem or ruling over the forces of Grimm with Salem dead at his feat. Everyone including Jaune himself couldn't believe what they are seeing.

One of the screens showed Jaune wearing full combat gear and wearing a mask attacking Beacon with the help of unknown soldiers. Another showed Jaune working with Roman Torchwick to rob stores of Dust and fight against RWBY. But the one that scared everyone is a version of Jaune wearing a leather trench coat with a black vest, his face was obscured by a mask only showing his mouth that smiled way to wide that it showed his gums which appeared to be rotted. He also wore a some kind of metal visor that covered his eyes, spikes could be seen jutting out of the visor giving it a menacing appearance.

The smiling Jaune waved at the group from behind the screen freaking out everyone before the screens flicked to black. "As you saw, there are some individuals that know about the mulitverse. There are also beings that have the power to travel through the multiverse, thought their power is limited. They can still cross from one universe to another."

That didn't do anything to calm their nerves as the image of the smiling Jaune waving at them lingered in their minds. Yang would never admit it but that version of Jaune scared the hell out of her but she didn't know why.

"Can we change the subject?" Leon asked seeing the mood of the teenagers dropped at the mention of the Dark 'Verse and everything lurking in it.

"Agreed, moving on there is Opposite 'Verse. Here everything is opposite to what you are used too. For example in this Universe, Weiss isn't cold but rather outgoing and makes an unhealthy amount of ice puns." Spart said looking to Weiss who looked interested and also horrified at the mention of puns. The mere mention of it chasing away the thoughts of the Dark 'Verse, though it still lingered in the back of her mind.

"Don't you mean freezing puns?" Yang added making everyone groan except for Tai who smiled at the pun and trying to restore some of the energy the group had before the mention of the DV.

"Take a look." Spart said making the other screen combine into a large one in the middle of the table. Weiss still couldn't believe that what they are about see is her making puns. Would that make her Yang?

_Weiss stood in front of a Beowolf encased in ice leaving only the head exposed. Her partner wondering what she is up to._

"Hey, that's when we met in the Emerald Forest." Ruby said recognizing the scenery.

"Shh, Rubes. Something tells me that we're about to witness something amazing." Yang told her sister while focusing on the screen.

_Weiss approached the struggling Beowolf. "You know what killed the dinosaurs?" She asked the Grimm who ceased struggling and looked at the SDC heiress with what could be described as confusion. Weiss activated the rotating chamber of Dust on her weapon, locking the Ice Dust in place she formed a blade of ice. "The Ice Age!" Weiss shouted before she plunged the ice blade into the skull and froze the Grimm solid before breaking it by removing her blade._

"Yes!" Yang shouted joyfully while smiling. Everyone else cringed at the ice pun, even Winter couldn't believe that her little sister would make such a pun. The screen changed again to show RWBY in their dorm room. "More!" Yang added happily.

_The now named team RWBY took in their dorm and looking at each other, no one bothered to speak until Weiss decided to speak to her new teammates. "Allow me to break the ice."_

'_Shut up, me!' _Weiss screamed to her onscreen self for making such awful puns.

The screen changed once again to the train full of White Fang speeding toward Vale, each train car decoupling and exploding when a good distance away.

_The White Fang grunts prepared to meet the Huntresses in training head on to prevent them from reaching the head of train. The grunts aimed their weapons at the door leading to the previous car when the door exploded inward. Weiss ran in when the grunts shielded their eyes from the explosion and plunged her blade into the floor of the car. Ice flowed outward from the blade and encased all the grunts in ice. _

"_Alright, everybody… chill." Weiss told the grunts encased in case._

"Enough!" Weiss shouted standing up and slamming her hands on the table making the food of those sitting next to her jump a little bit. "It's bad enough that I have to put up with Yang and her puns but now I have to listen to myself telling awful puns."

"You need to _chill _out." Yang told her teammate with a straight face. "Maybe seeing yourself will _melt _your _icy _attitude."

"Yang…" Weiss said with a twitching eyebrow a sign that she is pissed.

"Last one." Spart told them while secretly enjoying the terrible puns and also happy to see some of their energy return.

_Team RWBY faced their opponents in the arena during the Vytal Festival. The timer had yet to go off, so they sized up their opponents. Weiss spared a glance at the countdown and saw ten seconds left before the fight begins._

"_Alright, let's kick some ice!" Weiss shouted the moment the timer hit zero and the buzzer went of._

"That was amazing." Yang said brushing away a tear from the laughter she had from hearing the amazing puns.

Weiss was thankful that the puns are over. One thing is for sure, if she ever met this version of herself she would school the girl on the meaning of etiquette and how it is unbecoming for her to make puns.

The atmosphere slowly returned to the dinner table as thoughts of the DV were chased away by Weiss making puns and Yang's laughter. A flash of light appeared and all the young children now wore noice cancelling headphones.

"Moving on. Next is the Erotic 'Verse. The name should be a dead giveaway." Spart added and all the teenagers blushed at the name. Their imagination taking off with many different scenarios, some on the tame side and a few on the hardcore side. "In this 'Verse sex is the name of the game. From softcore to hardcore and I mean hardcore. I'm talking bondage, ball gags, crops, threesomes, blowjobs, foursomes, handcuffs, blowup dolls, dildos and vibrators. Just to name a few."

"Blake!" Yang yelled when her teammate passed out face first onto the table, blood flowing from her nose as she whispered everything Spart told them. Turns out Blake wasn't the only one to pass out Sun, Neptune, Pyrrha, Velvet, and Kali all passed out.

"Those are just some of the few universes in the expanding multiverse." Spart told the group. "Any other questions?"

When no one spoke up Spart let them continue eating while he disappeared in a flash of light leaving them alone to converse with each other, after he left so did the headphones. Slowly the atmosphere returned to a joyous one as family spoke and teams laughed at each other.

"How has my son been?" Leon asked Jaune's team and they gave him nothing but positive things to say about Jaune which made the Arc family happy that he made some friends. Leon and Emilia on the other hand felt guilty at the news that their son is soaking up the training that Pyrrha is giving him. Hopefully after dinner they can speak with him and clear the air between them.

Suddenly a flash of blue light appeared and Spart was back in the room. "When you're all finished eating feel free to mingle and explore some of the rooms. If you like some directions my helpers will be there to help." Spart told them before disappearing in another flash of light.

Shortly after Spart left everyone decided that they were finished with dinner and decided to explore some of the rooms and talk with each other. Some had other ideas such as Yang, she marched to Jaune.

"Hey Jaune. Is it true?" She asked the blonde knight when he was separated from his family and team.

"Is what tru—"

"The transcripts!" Yang yelled getting everyone's attention.

Jaune took a deep breath and looked Yang in the eye before answering. "Yes."

Yang's eyes shifted red for a moment before going back to their normal color. "Alright." She said before turning around and finding one of Spart's helpers. "Hey, where is the training room?"

The helper gestured for them to follow as it led the way.

Soon everyone found themselves in a large arena complete with weapon racks that held all of their weapons in the center of the room and Spart floating next to the weapon rack.

"Welcome to the training room." Spart greeted all of them when they entered. "Here you can train, vent all of your frustration, or just have a friendly spar."

"Yeah, Yeah." Yang said turning around to face Jaune. "Fight me."

"Why" Jaune asked even though he had a pretty good idea as to why.

"You faked your way into Beacon and you've been with us for a while. Show me that you deserve to be at Beacon." Yang said crossing her arms.

"Yang…" Ruby said worried that she may be taking things to far. Sure, she was hurt when Spart told them about Jaune's transcripts but he's still her friend and fellow team leader. Plus he's grown stronger to when he first started.

Weiss wasn't sure what to think. She hated the fact that Jaune lied his way into Beacon while she had to work hard to get in and he annoyed her by asking her out constantly and at the same time he helped her out romantically by getting Neptune to ask her out. After that he stopped asking her out and she got to know him a little. She wouldn't consider him a friend but more as an acquaintance.

Blake was like Weiss in that she wasn't sure what to think. Like Jaune she had to obtain false transcripts to be able to enter Beacon since she didn't go to a combat school like her classmates, putting her in the same boat as Jaune. Sadly, she didn't know Jaune all that well aside from classes and meetings between teams.

Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha stood by their teammate/leader in the belief that Jaune has more than earned his spot in Beacon. If fighting Yang would prove to them that he does belong, then so be it.

Pyrrha could only hope that what training she gave him would be enough to help him in the fight.

"Jaune, Yang come get your weapons. The rest can head up to the stands." Spart told the group.

Jaune and Yang approached the weapon racks while the rest went to the stands and took their seats above the arena. Grabbing their weapons Jaune and Yang shared a look before heading to opposite sides of the arena.

The weapons racks disappeared as Spart floated in between them. "The rules will be same as dueling. First one to drop below 40% loses, a time limit of 20 minutes will be added. When the bell rings you stop, got it?" Spart looked to Jaune who nodded before taking his stance. "Got it?" Spart looked to Yang who also nodded with a smile before activating her gauntlets.

A blue force field surrounded the arena and protecting the observers from any stray shots, the blue glow of the shield disappeared so they could see the action more clearly.

"Fighter one, ready?" Spart said with a slight hint of humor in its voice to Jaune who nodded again and activated his shield.

"Fighter two, ready?" Spart asked Yang who gave a thumbs up before shifting into her combat stance.

"Fight!" Spart yelled before disappearing in a flash of light.

Yang ran at Jaune and leaped at him slamming her fists into his shield which he brought up just in time. Yang smiled as she anticipated this and fired point blank knocking off his feet and onto his back. Jumping again Yang aimed her punch at Jaune's chest aiming to knock the air out of him in one blow.

Jaune rolled to his side at the last minute avoid the punch and slammed his shield into Yang's face knocking her off balance and giving him time to get to his feet and put some distance between Yang to plan out his next move.

Yang recovered and ran at Jaune and threw another punch at his face to which he countered by ducking under the punch and slashed at her mid-section only to be blocked by her other gauntlet. The sound of metal pinging off each other rang through the arena and Jaune getting backhanded in the face. Stumbling backwards Jaune quickly raised his shield to block another punch from Yang. The force behind the punch sent Jaune flying backwards which he quickly recovered just in time to avoid another hit from Yang.

'_This is bad. I can't keep up with Yang!' _Jaune thought to himself as he blocked another hit. _'Yang is a melee fighter that can take advantage of any opening.' _Blocking another hit and swinging his sword at her which was blocked. _'And her semblance lets her soak up damage and dish it back.' _Jaune thought as he dodged another hit. _'I can't keep playing defense, I need to go on the offense. Just need to find an opening'_

Jaune soon found his opening when he decided to play it risky and try to parry Yang. Jaune recalled all the previous fights that he'd seen of the brawler and knew that she always attacked with her right hand. So, when he saw her wind up he waited until she threw her punch and made his move, the surprise on Yang's face was priceless as her arm was batted away by Jaune's shield leaving her open to attack. Jaune struck hard and fast swinging his blade in a cross motion hitting Yang across the chest knocking her back a few steps.

Jaune knew that he had to keep up the pressure to even have a chance at winning so he charged Yang not giving her time to properly react or block any of his attacks. Jaune knew that this move was risky as it gave Yang more power as she absorbed hits and he was proven right when Yang caught his sword arm. Her blonde hair giving off embers and Jaune could feel the heat emanating from her.

Jaune tried to use his shield but was stopped when Yang grabbed the top of his shield.

"Oh, shit…" Jaune said when he saw Yang's eyes shift from lilac to red.

"Oh, shit. Indeed." Yang agreed before quickly releasing his sword arm to deliver a brutal punch straight to Jaune's face knocking him halfway across the arena.

Jaune gasped for breath after landing hard on his back, rolling onto his side Jaune had to use his sword as a crutch to lean on as he got to his knees to catch his breath. Jaune could tell that Yang didn't pull her punch, taking a quick look at his scroll he saw that his aura is at 75%. He didn't know what Yang's aura is at but he had to guess that she's about 85%.

It took a moment for Jaune to realize that he didn't have his shield, looking to Yang he saw his shield in her hand which she cast aside. Yang's hair smoldered with embers floating off her hair, her red eyes held controlled rage which made her look like some goddess of war. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Jaune slowly rose to his feet and held his sword in two hands as Yang approached him.

* * *

Leon watched his son fight and is impressed that he managed to hold out so far even after the Yang girl activated her semblance. Seeing his son fight also made him feel guilty for not training his son and for not helping him. Looking to his wife he could tell that she felt the same based on her clenched fists and eyes never leaving Jaune.

"Kid knows who he's fighting." Qrow said taking a drink from his flask. "He knows that he couldn't stay on defense forever and changed that. Gotta give him credit for knowing which arm Yang attacks with first."

"What Mr. Arc lacks in combat training, he makes up with being observant." Glynda said taking note of the fight and slightly impressed that Jaune managed to parry Yang and create an opening for him to attack however brief it might have been.

"Get your shield back." Pyrrha said to herself before chewing on her lowing lip. She taught Jaune how to fight with a sword and shield but never just a sword.

"He'll be fine, Pyrrha." Nora assured her with a smile that made her smile as she focused back on the fight. _'You can do it Jaune, win or lose. You'll always be a member of JNPR.'_

"He's got guts to go toe to toe with Yang without a shield." Sun said watching the fight with a critical eye making sure to note everything about their fighting style. After all he wants to spar against Jaune and see how he does against him.

"Or crazy." Coco added from her spot earning a look from Velvet. "Don't get me wrong Vel. He's got potential but attempting to fight a melee fighter with half a weapon is stupid."

"That train of thought may just lead to your defeat in the arena or worse in the field." Summer said looking to the group of teenagers before gesturing to the duel. "Look at Yang's posture. She doesn't consider him a threat even though he got a few good hits in."

Everyone looked to Yang and they saw what Summer meant. Yang is relaxed when she should be ready for anything meaning she doesn't consider this a fight. She could easily win the fight right now by rushing Jaune but instead she's walking.

"Yang is giving him time to plan when she should be pressing the advantage." Summer said crossing her arms. "She thinks her semblance gives her the victory when it could lead to her defeat."

Yang rushed Jaune who slightly leaned to his right meaning that he would dodge to the right and Yang adjusted throwing her punch to right of Jaune knowing that he would dodge right but instead he dodge left at the last possible minute and slashed at Yang's back as she flew passed.

"Yang is of the mindset that punching something hard enough and repeatedly automatically means a win." Tai added when Yang immediately turned around with a scowl on her face and rushed at Jaune again. "I repeatedly told her that strength doesn't mean a victory, keeping a clear head and adjusting your fighting style to match your opponent is crucial in combat."

Jaune dodged another attack but wasn't prepared when Yang pivoted on her heels and delivered a swift punch to his gut before following it up with a three hit combo to his midsection knocking him back.

"Seems to me like she's doing just fine." Weiss said impressed that Jaune managed to last this long in a fight with Yang, the third best fighter in their year.

"It may look like that but Jaune is actually winning." Summer said drawing confusion from the teenagers.

* * *

'_I need to finish this fast. I can't keep this up.' _ Yang thought to herself as she rushed Jaune only for him to block her attack with his sword and hit her in the face with the pommel knocking her back. "Ok, that hurt." She said before rushing him again this time with more anger in her punches

* * *

"You see, Yang's semblance lets her absorb damage from the hits she takes and returns it." Tai began his explanation while Jaune took another hit to the face which he returned by slashing at Yang chest. "She doesn't actually take the damage from the hits but rather from the loss of Aura that each hit does. It stores the loss energy and when her semblance is active it transforms that energy to her punches. Making her hits do more damage."

Jaune jumped out of the way of Yang's ground punch and moved to her blind spot and quickly slashed before backing away.

"The drawback to this is when the excess energy runs out and her semblance uses her own Aura." Tai informed the group but they still didn't get it until a light bulb went off in Nora' head.

"So Yang's semblance cannibalizes her own Arua to power her punches when her reserves run out." Nora said figuring it out.

"Right and she can't tell when the reserve runs out." Tai said never taking his off the fight. "Notice how Jaune is hitting her with quick slices instead of one with any power behind it. The reason is he knows that if hits her with any real hits then he's giving her energy to keep her semblance up." Tai said showing his teacher side.

"So he's using quick hits at the cost of his own Aura to keep Yang using her Semblance. Which in turn uses her own Aura to remain active." Blake said impressed at Jaune for coming up with a decent plan.

"Yang knows this too but right now he's annoying her." Tai said pointing to the fight to show Yang gritting her teeth in frustration at Jaune getting another quick hit in. "Yang was never good with controlling her emotions the longer a fight draws on, hence why she always aims to finish it quick."

"I wonder who told Jaune about the drawbacks of Yang's semblance." Summer said looking to her daughter who looked away in shame.

"We were discussing our teammates semblances." Ruby said pointing her index fingers together.

* * *

"Hold still, Vomit Boy." Yang said with frustration as Jaune dodged another hit and kept dodging to her blind spot. _'How long have I had my semblance up? 5 minutes? 10? Doesn't matter I just need one good hit.' _ Yang got her wish when she Jaune swing and ducked under the blade and delivered an upper cut knocking him off his feet, not giving him a moment to rest she timed her punch so she hit him in midair sending him flying across the arena.

'_Now!' _Yang ran at Jaune's fallen form and grabbed his breastplate lifting him off the ground and raised her fist to deliver the finishing blow. "A for effort, Vomit Boy. You made me sweat." Yang complimented him but then the buzzer sounded and Spart appeared in a flash of light.

"Winner by Aura drain, Jaune Arc!" Spart announced and Yang couldn't believe it that she let go of Jaune and checked her aura. 39% it read, Yang couldn't believe it and quickly deactivated her semblance and looked at Jaune who grinned slightly and showed her his aura, 41%.

Looking to the clock Yang saw that only five minutes remained, smiling to herself she offered a hand to Jaune which he took. Getting back on his feet Jaune noticed that Yang didn't let go of his hand right away.

"Not bad, what you lack in combat skill, you more than make up with that big brain." Yang complimented Jaune making him smile.

"Thanks, it wasn't fun being punched." Jaune said making Yang chuckle before she leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"I wonder what else is big." She said seductively and Jaune was suddenly aware of how close she is. Quickly pulling away Yang started laughing.

"Your too easy, Vomit boy." She said before heading to the weapons rack that appeared and placed her gauntlets among the other weapons and left the arena. Jaune noticed that Yang put a lot more sway in her hips and his eyes naturally followed the sway of her hips and everything below it. Suddenly he felt a chill go up his spine from multiple directions and decided to put away his weapon and rejoin the others.

Upon rejoining the others he was met with congratulations from his team and the staff of Beacon. It was decided that Jaune Arc had more than earned his place in Beacon, of course Yang wanted a rematch that Jaune said maybe to.

After the dual people went their separate ways to explore some of the rooms and see what else there is to see and others to talk with loved ones and reconnect.

"Jaune, we need to talk." Leon told his son and gestured for him to follow which he did along with his mother. Soon the trio found themselves in an empty room away from prying eyes and curious ears, Emilia told her daughters to hang out with Saphron and her wife while they talk to Jaune in private.

"If this is about leaving and joining Beacon, I can explain." Jaune quickly said making his parents smile.

"We'll talk about that later." Leon told Jaune calming him down slightly. "No, I- we want to say sorry for not training you or help you in joining Beacon."

"Why?" Jaune asked looking down at his feet for a moment before looking up and his parents saw not the face of their son but the face a young man hurt by those he held dear.

"It's my fault, son." Leon said looking his son in the eye. "I filled your head with stories of Huntsmen and the glory of them. I never wanted this path for you."

Jaune couldn't believe what his father told him, looking to his mother he saw that she agreed. "After everything you told me about Huntsmen. What did you think would happen?" Jaune said trying to hold back his tears.

"They were nothing more than glorified stories of a bygone age." Leon told his son not wanting to raise his voice. "You were five and I told you stories to keep you entertained but that's all they were, stories."

"I grew up listening to tales of you and grandpa as Huntsmen and you thought that I wouldn't want to be a Huntsman when I grew up." Jaune's voice started to raise in volume.

"I thought you would grow out of it!" Leon shouted at his son making him flinch and making Leon feel guilty but Jaune stood his ground.

"I didn't, I wanted to be like you." Jaune told his father. "I wanted to be a Huntsman protecting the people."

"Wake up, Jaune. This isn't a book where everyone gets a happy ending." Leon told his son slowly losing his temper. "Huntsmen die and kill. This is not something you want, trust me."

"It's still my decision and you should respect it. Not try to destroy it!" Jaune yelled at his father. He was unprepared for the slap his father gave him across his face.

"Leon!" Emilia shouted at her husband. He never slapped his children and for him to do it to their son stunned her. She was prepared to deliver her own to him when he embraced Jaune.

"Damn it, Jaune. I'm trying to protect you." Leon said his voice breaking and she could see tears on the verge of escaping. "I don't want you to lose your team in combat. I want you to have a long life, get married and have kids. I don't want to open my door and get the news that you died."

"My team is strong, we'll look out for each other." Jaune told his father who released him and took a step back.

"I thought the same and yet I'm here and two of them aren't." Leon said crying stunning Jaune as he never saw his father cry. "My partner lost his legs and his right arm. He now lives paycheck to paycheck with checks from the government. I had to tell a five year old girl why she won't see her mother anymore." Leon fell to his knees and hands, the tears flowing.

"I had to watch her partner cry for her mother while Grimm tore her limb from limb and I couldn't help them!" Leon said with a shakey voice. "I got two of my team killed and the third barely living. It's my fault! It should've been me!" Leon punched the floor and looked up to Jaune, snot ran from his nose as the tears continued to flow. "I was the team leader, it fell on me to keep my team safe and I failed. I got them killed!"

Leon held his face in his hands as he continued to cry. "I don't want you to experience the same pain I went through. I don't want you to have to tell a mother whey their daughter won't be coming home."

Jaune couldn't believe what he is hearing or seeing. He always saw his father as an icon of strength, after all not many could raise eight children and still remain sane. He always strived to be just like him one day but seeing his father on his knees before him crying and telling about his team shattered that image.

Jaune kneeled in front of his father and helped him back to his feet still sniffling, the tears seemed to slow down. "I'm sorry about your team and I understand why you want to protect me. But this is what I want dad. It's my choice and maybe instead of trying to destroy it, you can lend a hand." Jaune told his father with a firm voice. "I'm going to be a Huntsman, dad." Jaune said to his parents before turning and heading for the door but was stopped by his mother holding his arm.

"Are you sure about this Jaune?" Emilia asked her son. "The life of a Huntsman is always surrounded by death."

"I'm sure the moment I left home, mom." Jaune said and Emilia left go of her son as he walked out the door. She felt sad that her only son left but at the same time proud. She always saw him as the little boy always fighting Grimm and asking for stories, now he's a young man on his way to adulthood and walking a difficult path.

Emilia walked over to Leon and slapped him across the face before embracing him in a hug. "It's ok." She told her husband who held her tightly against him.

Emilia knew that their relationship with Jaune is now fractured and it will be some time before it can be repaired. They fucked up and now they need to fix it.

* * *

Jaune couldn't believe what his parents told him. It was his decision to become a Huntsman and instead of helping or at least supporting it, they tried to sabotage his dream. It pissed him off that he avoided his team and sisters to not expose them to his mood. Entering a random room Jaune found himself in what appeared to be lounging area based on the couches and recliners in the room.

Taking a seat on the couch Jaune put his face in his hands to take a moment to compose himself and organize his thoughts. He still couldn't believe what his parents told him, the sight of his father crying still lingered in his mind. In a weird way it was refreshing to see his father cry, to him it made him human.

Jaune rubbed his cheek where his father struck him, aura healed the redness but the memory of the pain is still fresh.

Suddenly a knock at the door drew his attention. "Jaune?" Pyrrha asked through the door. Jaune quickly composed himself before answering.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" Pyrrha asked to which Jaune agreed.

Pyrrha entered the room and closed the door behind her making sure to lock it to prevent any snoopers from intruding. "Are you ok? You seemed distressed earlier."

Jaune should've known that Pyrrha or someone from his team would be looking for him. Jaune looked at Pyrrha and remembered his father's words about telling a mother why they wouldn't see their daughter again. The memory of seeing his partner die when Spart showed them their future played out in his mind and he wondered if the responsibility of telling her parents fell to him.

"What did your parents think about you choosing to be a Huntress?" Jaune asked his partner.

"They were concerned and scared about my safety." Pyrrha said thinking back to the conversation she had with her parents when she told them that she wanted to be a Huntress. "After a few conversations they understood and supported me."

"Must be nice." Jaune said looking at the floor recalling his conversation with his parents.

"jaune, what happened?" Pyrrha asked concerned for her partner and so Jaune told her of the meeting between his parents. Pyrrha didn't interrupt Jaune as he told what transpired between him and his parents and she could see their point but also Jaun's as well. She wondered if her parents went through the same thing when she told them about wanting to be a Huntress.

Jaune felt better after telling Pyrrha but the feeling of betrayal from his parents still stung and he suspected that it will for a while. "Thanks for listening Pyrrha."

"Anytime, Jaune." Pyrrah said with a slight blush.

Seeing the blush on Pyrrha's face reminded Jaune of what Weiss yelled at them and looking back he could see the signs but was so caught with Weiss that he basically had tunnel vision. "I've been an idiot haven't I?"

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked confused.

"Ignoring your feelings." Jaune said looking at Pyrrha making her look away as she coughed into her hand.

"You liked Weiss. It made sense that you would have eyes only for her." Pyrrha said with a hint of sadness and jealousy.

"So… how long?" Jaune asked curious as when Pyrrha first started liking him.

"Shortly after initiation." Pyrrha answered looking at Jaune. "At first it was because you didn't know who I was." Jaune wasn't sure what to think as Pyrrha liked him because he didn't know her. "Then I got to know you better. You're kind to everyone even Cardin, you treat the Faunus as equals rather than looking down on them. And you also put everyone's needs ahead of your own." Pyrrha told Jaune before blushing and looking away to hide her embarrassment.

Pyrrha felt something encase her hand and she looked back at Jaune to see him holding her hand. "I never knew you felt that way about me."

"I'm not the only one." Pyrrha said thinking of the other girls that have a crush on Jaune. When he looked confused again she decided to help him see. "Nora, Velvet and Ruby."

"What?" Jaune asked again not sure he heard it correct in that four beautiful women had a crush on him. Jaune couldn't believe it, he wasn't anything special and he considered himself average in the looks department.

Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle at his expression before remembering something Nora told her before she followed Jaune. _"Be brave, you're Pyrrha Nikos. Four time champion and all around badass." _Nora was right, she is Pyrrha Nikos and she would be brave.

Leaning forward she kissed Jaune's cheek making him blush a deep red. "I like you Jaune and would like something more. But for now I'll settle for this." She said before getting off the couch and heading for the door.

"Pyrrha, I… I would like something more too." Jaune said quickly rising to his feet and stopping Pyrrha from leaving just as her hand is on the handle. "I'm new to this. So maybe we can take things slow?"

"Sure." Pyrrha said before unlocking the door and leaving the room. Jaune smiled to himself before leaving and followed Pyrrha back to the dining hall where everyone is gathered.

Spart appeared in another flash of light. "Everyone, your rooms are ready. Follow me." Spart told them before heading to a door and leading the group down a series of hallways until they reached a two floor hall. "Students on the left and adults on the right. Everyone will have their own room complete with wardrobe filled with casual clothes in case you with to wear something other than what your wearing right now."

"Tomorrow will be another viewing but for now get some rest." Spart told them before disappearing again to do whatever he did.

Everyone felt tired after the events of everything that happened. To learning their future, being reunited with lost loved ones and finding out that a single person is controlling the Grimm and bent on the destruction of Remnant. Needless to say everyone is exhausted physically and mentally and need to rest. So after saying good night everyone went to their rooms and found them easily as their emblems are adorned on the door.

Tai changed into his sleep wear consisting of plain pajama pants and a pale yellow tank top that he found in the large closet that held all of his clothes. Summer went to the bathroom to change after grabbing her own sleep wear, Tai still couldn't believe that Summer is back and this isn't a dream. He still remembered the pain of losing her and how he had to step up to be there for his children.

Laying down on the large bed Tai sighed as the bathroom doors opened and Summer stepped out wearing a black tank top with night shorts that had her symbol stitched into the side. Summer smiled at him before climbing onto the bed and laying next to him. Tai held her close and she did the same, the two eventually drifted off into sleep holding each other.

As everyone slept, a gentle glow surrounded certain people as they slept.

* * *

**A/N: So the next chapter will come when I finish writing the reactions. **

**With that out of the way, stay safe during this crazy time.**

**\\[T]/**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello everyone, hope everyone is staying safe during this crazy time. Here is another reaction for the RWBY cast.**

**Before we begin, I want to address the issue of Jaune's parents. He didn't forgive them for what they did. He's disappointed in them which is a much harsher punishment for them instead of just being yelled at by their son.**

**I wanted to clear that up since I've gotten some comments about Jaune forgiving them, which he didn't.**

**Another long chapter ahead. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.**

**With that out of the way. It's showtime.**

**Inspiration: 007**

* * *

Jaune woke up in an unfamiliar room different than the Beacon dorm rooms, panicking a bit before remembering the previous events of the day before. Calming down Jaune rolled onto his back so he looked at the ceiling, he still found the concept of the multiverse hard to believe let alone a whole section dedicated to him alone. According the Spart, the being who brought them here said that there are sections of the multiverse dedicated to every one of his teammates.

Shaking his head of the thoughts Jaune decided it was time to get up and rolled out of bed, stretching and doing some push-up which wasn't something he always did until Ren suggested it to help him and now, he did it every morning. After that he went to the closet and opening it, he saw clothes in his style and size. From suits to casual clothes, deciding to go with something simple Jaune picked out an olive-green shirt and jeans, after that he got his underwear and socks and went to the bathroom to shower.

Feeling the hot water wash over him Jaune sighed placing his hands on the shower wall and let the water ease his muscles. It wasn't just the multiverse he found hard to believe but also that four girls liked him, Pyrrha, Nora, Velvet and Ruby.

Jaune wasn't sure what to think about that, he knew some guys would be envious of him. After all he got the attention of not one girl but four, and incredibly attractive girls at that. He just didn't know what to think or how to act around them now that he knew about their feelings, maybe he should ask Ren or Sun. They might have advice on how to proceed, if not he'll have to do what he does best, wing it and hope to survive.

After the shower Jaune got dressed and left his room meeting some of his teammates and classmates along with some of the adults, looking around he noticed that some of his classmates are not in the group and figured that they are still sleeping. He also noticed that his parents are in the group, Jaune looked away from his parents remembering the previous night thankfully Spart appeared.

"Follow my helpers to the dining hall for breakfast while I set up the next viewing." Spart told them before disappearing again.

Following the helper droid back to the dining hall Jaune sat next to Ren which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the Arc family.

Saphron looked between her younger brother and her parents wondering if something happened between them.

Finally, everyone who wasn't the group entered the dining room, Jaune noticed that Yang and Ruby looked shaken while their parents blushed red as they took their seats. Like the dinner all they had to do was think about what they wanted to have for breakfast, and it was brought out to them freshly made.

Everyone ate their breakfast in silence giving Jaune time to take notice that everyone is wearing different outfits except for the teachers who still wore their teaching clothes.

Yang wore a yellow shirt with brown cargo pants, she also had her hair in a high ponytail.

Blake wore a deep purple t shirt with black jeans, she also was not wearing her bow. She had her cat ears on full display for everyone to see. Kali smiled when she saw her daughter showing her true self.

Ruby wore the basics of her combat outfit same with Weiss.

Ren wore a green shirt with black pants and Nora wore a t-shirt with her emblem and a pink skirt.

Pyrrha wore a emerald tank top with blue jeans, she still had on her tiara but other than that she looked different wearing normal clothes. Jaune looked her and smiled at her, the green complimented her red hair making her stand out.

Velvet wore a white button up shirt with black jeans and Coco wore her standard outfit minus the scarf.

Seeing Velvet and the others reminded Jaune of their crush on him and the minefield that it is. _I guess it's true what they say, ignorance is bliss._ What he didn't know was that Pyrrha met with the others and they all decided to a truce for the time being to better figure out how to navigate their feelings for the blonde knight and to have a meeting after the next viewing.

Sung and Neptune kept their usual clothes on.

"What do you think we're going to see next?" Sun asked in between bites of his breakfast burrito.

"Who knows but I hope it's not the Dark 'Verse." Yang said recalling the Smiling Jaune with a shiver.

"_Attention everyone, please proceed to the theater for the next showing." _Spart's voice announced and everyone finished eating their breakfasts before heading to the theater.

Arriving at the theater the group entered and took their previous seats and ordered some drinks for the viewing.

"Ok, so like the universes before aura does not exist, as well as Grimm or hunters." Spart told them floating in front of the screen. "In this universe Jaune is a secret agent on behalf of Arcadia."

"Arcadia?" Ren asked never hearing about Arcadia before.

"It's a small kingdom located on an island off the coast of Vale." Oobleck told them of the small kingdom. "The Kingdom is ruled by eight royal families. As I recall the Arcs are one of them."

Everyone who didn't know looked to the Arcs who shrugged at the news. "Your royalty?" Pyrrha asked looking to her partner who nodded.

"The Arcs are small compared to the other royal families." Jaune said remembering some of the other families.

"The smallest, yes, but also the one with the most power." Ozpin said recalling what he knew of the royal families of Arcadia.

"So, you have a castle?" Nora asked excited at the prospect of being in an actual castle.

"No, we have a mansion." Jaune answered making Nora deflate with disappointment before perking up.

"Can we visit?"

"Sure." Jaune said excited about showing his friends his home kingdom.

Yang and the others couldn't believe that Jaune is royalty but doesn't act like it. Weiss on the other hand recalled some business trips her mother took to Arcadia and wondered if she met the Arcs.

"So, Jaune is a secret agent?" Coco asked as a fan of spy thrillers.

"Yup, let's get the show on the road." Spart said as he flew back to usual spot above the audience and the screen came to life as the lights died down. "Also, this is a merger universe. Your universe merged with a another and came out the dominate one. Things are different such as Bullheads are replaced by helicopters just to name a few."

**A plane flew over a dam while a person ran along the top of it carrying a bungee rope over his shoulder. The person stopped in the middle of the dam and removed the rope tossing it to the ground before looking over the edge of the dam and grabbing one end of the rope and secured it to a railing via a climbing clasp. Grabbing the other end of the rope the person secured it to a hook on his boot before standing on the edge of the dam.**

"Is he going to—" Velvet asked slightly getting vertigo upon seeing the height of the dam.

"It would appear so." James said making sure to pay attention since the armies of Arcadia are known for their strength and tactics. He also recognized the dam from a report that crossed his desk but didn't get the chance to read as a Councilman's aide took the report away.

Coco paid attention to the screen already entranced at what is going to happen.

**The person looked down and saw his destination before looking to the scenery and taking a deep breath, his blonde hair slightly blowing in the wind. Taking another deep breath, the person leaped off the dam.**

Everyone held their breath as Jaune fell through the air.

**Halfway down the bungee rope gained some tension slowing the person down as he reached into his vest pocket and grabbed his gun. When he reached the bottom, the person fired the gun and a grappling hook embedded itself in the concrete, pulling the trigger activated the winch on the back of the grappling gun pulling him down toward the hatch.**

**Salem Chemical Weapons Facility – Northern Atlas**

"James?" Ozpin asked upon seeing what the facility is.

"I have no knowledge of this." James answered honestly having no knowledge of such a facility exiting in Atlas before remembering the report that the aide came for. _'Is that what report was?'_ James hoped he was wrong.

"So, it could exist." Glynda said terrified of the prospect of chemical weapons which are banned.

**Upon reaching the hatch the person unhooked the clasp on his boots letting the bungee rope go. Now free of the rope the person went about cutting a hole on the hatch with the help of a cutting laser built into the grappling gun.**

"That is so cool and practical." Coco said removing her sunglasses to better see the screen.

"So many applications." Nora said eyeing the tool with stars in her eyes. Ran and Jaune were happy that she didn't have such a tool at her disposal, or they would be in detention for their entire time at Beacon.

Blake and Ilia remembered some missions on behalf of the White Fang where such a device would have been useful.

James remembered approving something similar for R&D, hopefully something can come out of it.

**Inside the facility's bathroom two guards went about their business, one stood in front of a urinal and the other carrying a newspaper went into the stalls. Closing the stall door, the guard didn't notice the ventilation cover above him removed. Taking the newspaper out from under his arm the guard opened it and began reading as he sat on the toilet. Meanwhile the other guard finished washing his hands and left the bathroom.**

**The guard sitting on the toilet felt something was off and peeked around the newspaper to see someone else in the stall with him hanging upside down. The person smiled at the guard.**

"**Beg your pardon. Forgot to knock." The person said before knocking the guard out and letting go of the ventilation shaft he was using to hang onto with his legs. **

"That's one way to make an entrance." Tai said with a smile while Summer rolled her eyes.

"Who puts a ventilation shaft above a toilet?" Weiss asked confused.

"Have you ever been in a men's bathroom?" Qrow asked knowing that she hasn't. "Let's just say ventilation is a requirement."

**Jaune opened the bathroom door slowly and checked to see if anyone is coming, when he didn't see anything, he left the bathroom and the unconscious guard still on the toilet. Jaune is wearing all black and a light vest to not hinder his mobility and his hair is styled back. **

All the girls who have a crush on Jaune blushed upon seeing how handsome an older Jaune is. Even Weiss could admit that an older Jaune is attractive, Yang and Blake lightly blushed as well.

Sun considered styling his hair but decided against it, he could never do that to his locks.

**Opening a door Jaune quickly entered with his weapon drawn and checked to see if any guards are nearby. Seeing no one Jaune took the stairs down and peeked around the corner to see an Atlas soldier wearing an apron grabbing meat from the freezer and setting it on a cart. Waiting until the solder went back into the freezer before moving, Jaune went into the door further down the hall just in time as the solder came back out.**

**Jaune appeared to be in a storage area poorly lit, moving through the room he went to the window and peeked. On the other side is the mess hall where Atlas soldiers are enjoying their meal and talking with each other, hearing voice Jaune turned towards the door to see two guards pass through the dirty door window. Making sure they are gone Jaune approached the door and was ambushed when a person jumped out of the shadows holding a gun to his head. Jaune couldn't see the person's face since the shadows obscured it.**

"_**Who are you? How did you get here? Are there any more of you?" **_**The person asked in the Atlas language.**

"Is that really the native language of Atlas?" Yang asked having never heard the language.

"It's mostly spoken in the smaller towns, occasionally you hear it in Atlas." James said drinking his coffee.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha said concerned for her friend, she worried that the person in the shadows might pull the trigger.

"**I'm alone." Replied Jaune keeping his cool despite having a gun in his face. The person lowered the gun and steeped out of the shadows.**

"Dad?" Ruby and Yang said at the same time when they saw their dad step out of the shadows. His normal shaggy hair is tamed and styled back, and he didn't have his stubble instead he is clean shaven. Summer bit her lower lip finding him to be even more attractive.

"Looks like I'm in this universe as well." Tai said surprised to see himself again.

"**Aren't we all?" The person said revealing themselves to be a man in their middle ages with slicked back blonde hair and a smirk. "You're late, 007." **

"**I had to stop in the bathroom." Jaune replied.**

"**Ready to save the world again?"**

"**After you, 006." Jaune replied with a smile.**

"So, you're a spy as well." Glynda said pushing up her glasses and drinking her tea. "I didn't realize you're an Arcadian, Mr. Xio Long."

"My Parents were. I was born in Vale." Tai said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"007 and 006?" Coco asked curious.

"Codenames given to them." Spart said. "Many before Jaune have held the codename 007, and many more will do so when he's gone."

**The scene changed to show 006 opening a ventilation cover and looking to Jaune. "Jaune… for Arcadia."**

"**For Arcadia, Tai." Jaune said before entering the ventilation shaft and Tai followed behind making sure to close the cover before moving on. After moving through the ventilation shaft Jaune stopped and waited for a guard to pass before opening the cover slowly and stepping out making sure to draw his pistol while Tai got out and moved the cover back in place.**

**The two agents moved through the hall making sure to check for any guards before moving on. Finally, they made it a room with a large window panel showing only one scientist inside taking notes on the chemicals inside the vials. Tai entered the room with Jaune behind him and shot the man in the head before moving to the back of the room with a keypad.**

Ruby and Yang flinched when they saw their dad kill a man, even if the man on screen is different from their father they still have the same face, voice, eye color and posture. It made hard for them to see the man as anything other than their father.

James took note of the lack of guards and wondered why a facility such as the one on screen didn't have more guards or security precautions to prevent anyone from infiltrating the facility. Something felt off and all the adults in the room felt it.

**Jaune grabbed a device from one of the pouches on his vest and placed it on the keypad and entered a code while Tai hid the body. The device beeped red before flashing green and the locked door opened, Jaune entered first with Tai following making sure to grab the device before closing the door.**

"That would be handy." Ilia said remembering some of her missions when such a device would have been handy. Sienna hummed as she thought having such a device made, the only real problem would be who could make it.

**Inside the room is a storage area full of chemical weapons that Atlas manufactured. Jaune took a knee on the catwalk overlooking the area, everything appeared quiet with not a guard in sight.**

"**It's too easy." Jaune said not liking the situation, there should be guards but there isn't and that unnerved him.**

"**Half of everything is luck, Jaune." Tai said before placing the device back on the keypad.**

"That's true." Leon said adjusting in his chair. "Half is everything is luck. You have 50/50 shot of an assignment going bad or going great. Sometimes bad luck can be just as dangerous as a Grimm."

Tai, Summer and Raven looked to Qrow who sipped his flask. "What?"

"**And the other half?" Jaune asked just then the alarms went off.**

"**Fate." Tai said as both walked down the stairs. "Set timers: six minutes." **

"**Six minutes, check." Jaune replied when they reached the ground floor. Jaune holstered his weapon and went about setting explosives on the chemical tanks. Tai ran to the other door on the other side of the room just in time to intercept two guards who rushed into the room, firing his weapon Tai killed the guards and grabbed their weapons. **

**Tai locked the door and damaged the keypad so the guards can only come in through the door they came in, but Tai also locked that door. Jaune finished setting the first half of the explosives and went to set the remaining charges, catching the gun that Tai tossed before moving on.**

**Tai found a spot to take cover and waited just as the guards tried to open the door but couldn't. switching tactics the guards moved to the window panel overlooking the storage area, an Atlas officer looked through the window before moving back behind his men. **

Weiss, Winter and Willow froze when they saw Jacque Schnee wearing an Atlas uniform. Even James was surprised to see the CEO of the SDC wearing an Atlas uniform.

'_If Jacque is in the military, then does that mean I'm not married to him.' _Willow thought.

Everyone was caught up in the action on screen and wondered how Jaune and Tai are going to escape.

"**Fire!" He shouted and the guards fired at the window trying to break the bullet resistant glass.**

"**Closing time, Jaune." Tai yelled seeing the glass won't hold long. "Last call!"**

"**Buy me a pint." Jaune said setting the timer for the charges, just then the firing stopped and the guards began bashing the window and breaking the glass. The guards climbed through the window and Tai opened fire on the guards killing some of them. One of the guards made to the ground level and tried to rush Tai only to get shot for his efforts.**

**Jaune finished setting the explosive and moved onto the next one.**

"**This is Colonel Schnee. Come out with your hands above your heads!"**

"**How original." Jaune said to himself as he set the next charge, just then the door exploded drawing his attention as more guards entered the room. "Shut the door, Tai! There's a draft!" He yelled stilling setting the bomb. "Tai?" Jaune called out when he didn't hear anything back. Grabbing the assault rifle stayed behind the chemical canisters and peeked out.**

"Oh no." Ruby said worriedly playing with the ends of her hood cape worried about her father and crush.

"Relax, Ruby. Dad and Jaune are secret spies, I'm sure they'll make it." Yang told her younger sister with a smile making her feel better.

Blake didn't want to say anything to upset Ruby but even she could tell that something was wrong when your backup doesn't respond.

**Jaune saw Tai on his knees in front of Colonel Schnee and surrounded by guards. Colonel Schnee held a gun to Tai's head. "Move out. Throw down your weapon and walk towards me, slowly."**

"**Finnish the job, Jaune. Blow them all to hell!" Tai yelled not showing fear.**

"Tai…" Summer said worried about her husband even though she is sitting next to him and holding his hand. Yang and Ruby shared their mother's concern.

Qrow clenched his hands at the sight of his friend being held with a gun to his head. He hoped that on screen Jaune would be able to save his friend.

"**You have 10 seconds." Colonel Schnee said looking at Jaune hiding behind the chemical canisters.**

**Jaune went back to the explosives and reset the timer from 6 minutes to 3 minutes just as the Colonel started counting down. Dropping the rifle Jaune stepped out from behind the canisters just as the Colonel reached five.**

"**Four, three, two-"**

"**For Arcadia, Jaune!" Tai yelled before the Colonel pulled the trigger killing Tai. Jaune quickly ran back behind the canisters just before the guards opened fire.**

"Dad!" Yang and Ruby cried out when they saw their father killed.

Tai closed his eyes at the sight of his friend being killed. _'Just like before. I wasn't there to help.'_

"They could set off an explosion." James said watching as the soldiers shot at the tanks that Jaune is hiding behind. Everyone in the room looked at James like he grew a second head, the stared at him for a moment not saying anything before focusing back on the screen.

"**Hold your fire!" Colonel Schnee ordered looking to his men. "You'll blow the gas tanks."**

**Jaune picked up the rifle and is determined to avenge his friend. **

"**This is your last chance." Colonel Schnee said taking a few steps towards the gas canisters. "Come out with your hands above-"**

**Jaune moved behind a cart full of gas canisters and pushed it, making sure to stay behind it.**

"Smart." Ozpin said impressed at his student.

"They can't risk shooting or else they'll release the chemicals." Winter said also impressed at the thinking.

"That's our fearless leader!" Nora said happily. "Always thinking outside the box."

Jaune simply smiled at the praise wondering if he's really as good as his on screen counterparts are at making plans.

"**Wait!" Colonel Schnee told his men when they prepared to fire.**

**Jaune moved across the room using the cart of gas canisters as cover, peeking around the cart he saw the guards keeping their weapons trained on him. Colonel Schnee smiled at the ingenuity of using the gas canisters as cover to prevent them from shooting them.**

**Peeking around the cart again Jaune had to retreat behind the cart when one of the guards fired a couple of shots, luckily none of the bullets hit any of the canisters. Colonel Schnee turned around shot the guard that opened fire killing him before focusing back on Jaune who continued moving till he reached the wall which also happened to be where the conveyer belt is located though it was turned off.**

"Wow, your dad can be a dick." Yang told Weiss making her nod in agreement.

Weiss never had the best thoughts or feelings toward her father and seeing him kill a soldier reminded of her of her father's teachings. _'Weiss, it's always important to make sure that everyone follows your order. And those that don't must be dealt with.'_ Shaking her head to chase away the memory Weiss looked at the screen and saw how the two Jacques are similar yet different.

**Colonel Schnee smiled when Jaune had nowhere left to go. "You can't win."**

**Jaune quickly hit the switch for the conveyer belt activating it and jumping on it before shooting the lock for the cage above the guards releasing the empty gas canisters. The empty gas canisters landed on the guards disorganizing them and giving Jaune time to make his escape.**

"Ha! That's what you get for underestimating, fearless leader." Nora said proudly at Jaune escaping the clutches of Atlas.

"Mr. Arc has once again proven his ability to think outside the box." Glynda said impressed at the boy's ability to outthink his opponents. Such as his fight with Yang.

"Are you ok?" Pyrrha asked Jaune when she saw him lower his head.

"It's weird that everyone is comparing everything that _he _does to me." Jaune said shrinking into himself.

"That's because _he _is you." Spart said floating in front of Jaune having paused the screen. "All the different Jaune's in the multiverse comes from you. Though their actions and personalities differ, they all have the same trait. Bravery, resourcefulness, and the ability to think outside the box when it comes to plans."

"So, all the Jaune's share the same traits as our Jaune?" Ren asked now curious.

"Yes, it is a common trait among all of them." Spart said before focusing on Jaune. "They are you just different in their own ways." Spart said before flying back to his normal spot. Jaune looked at the paused screen and wondered if he really did have a talent for making plans, sure he loved strategy games but that didn't make him good at making plans.

**Outside the facility a plane is preparing to leave as it heads towards the runway. Jaune exits the facility via the conveyer and sees the plane leaving. Running towards the plane just as the outer doors of the facility open and guards come running out.**

"**Get out there! Move it! Move it!" Colonel Schnee orders his men as they start running after Jaune.**

**Jaune takes cover behind some pipes as the guards start shooting. Leaning out of cover Jaune returns fire and kills some of the guards before getting back into cover. Jaune looks back at the plane and sees that it starting to pick up speed, taking a chance Jaune runs after the plane.**

"You can do it." Velvet whispered.

"Worried about your future husband, bun-bun?" Coco whispered making the rabbit faunus blush as she tried to deny it by shaking her hands.

"**Hold your fire!" Colonel Schnee orders his men as guards using bikes chase after Jaune. **

**Jaune runs after the plane and the pilot sees him and draws his pistol just as Jaune enters the plane through the doors. Quickly moving to the cockpit Jaune grabs the back of the pilot's head and slams it into the console trying to knock him and pulling him out of the pilot's chair. Meanwhile outside the plane one of the bikes catches up with the plane and the guard grabs his weapon just when Jaune kicks open the plane side doors and using the pilot's gun shoots the guard.**

**The pilot leans forward dragging himself and Jaune out of the plane onto the runway. The pilot looks up and sees one of the bikes heading towards him and he screams just as the bike hits him knocking him back and the guard off the bike. Jaune meanwhile runs towards the fallen bike and quickly gets on and starts chasing after the plane.**

"**Wait!" Colonel Schnee tells his men when he sees what Jaune is doing. **

"Is he going to make it?" Blake asks concerned at what he's doing.

"I don't think so." Ghira said drawing the attention of everyone. "Even if he pushes the bike to it's limit, he won't make it in time before it flies off the runway.

**Jaune continues to chase the plane even after it flies off the runway. Without a pilot the plane nosedives, Jaune lets go of the bike and chases the plane in the air making sure to keep his arms and legs straight to gain speed. Slowly he approaches the plane as the ground grows closer, finally making it to the side door Jaune pulls himself inside and goes to the pilot's seat and tries to pull back on the stick to get the plane out of the nosedive.**

**The ground starts to get closer as Jaune continues to pull back on the stick and soon the plane disappears behind hill.**

"Jaune!" Ruby, Pyrrha, Velvet and Noa yelled at the same time worried about their crush being dead.

"That was short." Sun said drawing the ire of the girls making him shrink into his seat.

**The plane flies a few feet above the mountain floor and over the facility as the bombs explode destroying the chemical weapons facility.**

"Yeah! He made it!" Pyrrha said jumping out of her seat before pointing a finger at Sun. "Never underestimate Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled before adopting a look of shock and furiously apologized to Sun who told her that it's ok, taking her seat Pyrrha hid her face behind her hands to try and hide from the embarrassment.

Jaune put and arm around her shoulders bringing her out from behind her hands. "Thanks, Pyrrha." He told her making her blush, all the girls who have a crush on Jaune pouted at the sight and wondered when they are going to be held. Sure, they all made a truce but a girl could only wait so long before drastic action is taken.

**Nine years Later **

**Jaune is driving down a winding mountain road with a woman in the passenger seat of his silver car. The woman looks nervous as Jaune speeds up.**

"**Jaune, is it really necessary to drive quite so fast?" Penny, the psychiatrist asks and wonders why she agreed to ride along with Jaune instead of just meeting in her office.**

Everyone looked at Penny who smiled at them and waved a little before drinking her tea. Penny is interested in seeing how her on screen self is.

"That's a nice car." Tai said impressed at the make and model of the silver car. "Classic too, fully restored."

"**More often than you'd think." Jaune replies while expertly navigating the road even while at high speeds. Looking in the rearview mirror he sees a red sports car going just as fast.**

**Penny looks at Jaune then to the road. "I enjoy a spirited ride as much as the next girl, but-" Looking to Jaune she sees him smile and nod in her direction. Looking out the passenger window Penny sees and attractive woman with black hair wearing sunglasses and a red scarf driving a red sports car who returns the smile before removing the sunglasses. "Who's that?" Penny asks Jaune who smiles before focusing back on the road. **

"**The next girl." Jaune replies shifting gears as the red car goes in front of them and the two begin a race down the mountain. Penny can't believe that Jaune would do such a thing.**

"Isn't that Cinder?" Yang said surprised to see the woman who is responsible for the death of one of her friends and the fall of Beacon.

"Looks like it." Blake said recalling the few times she met the dark-haired woman, just meeting her Blake felt like something was off about her but she couldn't tell what. Now she knew why.

Ozpin still couldn't believe that he let an agent of Salem slip in under his nose, too be fair she never recruited someone so young before. Salem always recruited people with experience who are easily swayed by her honeyed words and the promise of power. He should have seen it coming but didn't until it was too late and that cost him not only his own life but the life of one of his students.

**The two trade who is in first until they come to a curve, the red car turns early and onto a dirt section of the road while Jaune sticks to the road and quickly gains the lead. Penny covers her eyes and looks even more nervous while Jaune look at her before focusing back on the road as the two continue their race.**

**Jaune tries to pass but the red car is blocking him at every turn, smiling as he sees an opening Jaune shifts gears and comes up to the red car until they are side by side. The woman in the red car smiles to which Jaune returns as he takes the lead. Now the roles are reversed in that Jaune is blocking the red car from passing, meanwhile both drivers are unaware of a tractor coming up the road.**

"Oh, no." Penny said cheerfully drawing the attention of those near her. It seemed that she had yet to fully know when a situation is bad.

**Passing the curve in the road Penny sees the tractor and screams before covering her eyes. The driver of the red car swerves to avoid the tractor and ends up spinning out of control. Frustration is evident on her face as she tries to get the car under control which she does after a few spins and gets back on the road.**

"Smooth handling." Tai complimented Cinder's driving.

"Dad, she's evil!" Ruby told her dad.

"Back home yes, but here she could be good." Tai said looking at his daughters. "Remember what Spart said. Every universe is different and here Cinder may be a good person.

"Who enjoys racing on dangerous roads?" Qrow asked looking to Tai who shrugged.

"Let's continue watching. We may find our answer." An said drinking her herbal tea.

"**Jaune, stop this. Stop it!" Penny says with a raised voice before looking to Jaune. "I know what you're doing."**

"**Really? What's that, dear?" Jaune asks while checking the rearview mirror.**

"**You are just trying to show off the size of your… your…" Penny struggles to find the right words.**

"**Engine?" Jaune offers.**

"**Ego." **

"What's the difference?" Yang asked leaning back in her seat. "All guys care about is the size of their engine and ego."

"Not all men are like that, Yang." Summer told her daughter.

"No, she's right." Raven said taking a sip of her wine and agreeing with her daughter. "Two things men care about, their engine and ego." All the men in the room decided to remain silent and live another day.

"Some yes and others no." Kali pitched in from her spot next to Ghira holding a bowel of popcorn. "The key is how to tell them apart."

"Moving on." Emilia said pointing to the screen.

**The sound of honking gets their attention and they see that the red car is back, and the driver has a smirk. "We're having a pleasant drive and you bring psychology into it." Jaune says focusing on the road.**

"**Well, I was sent here to evaluate you." Penny says while keeping one hand on the dashboard.**

"**Let's try and put that behind us. Shall we." Jaune tells Penny as the race continues between the two. Further down the road a group of bikers are biking up the winding road of the mountain. The two cars are side by side as they drive around the curves of the road and fast approaching the bike group.**

**Jaune once again takes the lead as the driver of the red car shifts gear and gets alongside him. The bikers see the approaching cars and stop as they approach.**

"**Ladies first." Jaune says and with a gesture of his hand tells the driver of the red car to go ahead and pass which she does with a smile on her face. The red car passes in front of silver one and takes lead, once the cars pass the bike group one of the bikers falls over taking a good portion of the group with him.**

"Such reckless behavior." Glynda said with shame in her voice at the sight of Jaune endangering lives for the sake of a race with a woman he barely knows.

"Like you're one to talk." Emilia said to the deputy headmistress drawing her attention. "I seem to recall you being reckless when we first met.

"That was a long time ago." Glynda said with a cough remembering when she first met the Arc matriarch. "I was younger then."

"Not quite as busty too."

"Do tell." Qrow said suddenly interested in the story. It was no secret that Glynda Goodwitch is a desirable woman among the male and female populace, she even found some adult art about her from a student.

"Private, I'm afraid." Emilia told Qrow making him slouch in his seat.

"**Jaune, I want you to stop this car!" Penny orders Jaune once they pass the bike group.**

"**Really?"**

"**Stop this car at once!" Penny once again orders and Jaune pulls the emergency brake making the car skid to a stop at a resting place for drivers. Jaune unbuckles himself and leans over to Penny, putting his arm on the headrest behind Penny.**

"**As you can see…" Jaune tells Penny getting her to look at him. "I have no problem with female authority." Penny blushes and notices Jaune's arm move and looks down to see Jaune open the center console to reveal a portable cooler with a bottle of wine and a glass.**

"Kid's good." Qrow said putting away his flask.

"Indeed." Ozpin agreed with Qrow. "He's impressed her with his driving skills and no doubt the drive has also helped."

"Is that true, Jaune?" Yang asked turning in her seat to face the blonde behind her. "You have no problem with female authority?"

"No commit." Jaune said with a blush and giving the girls who like him ideas on how to make him theirs. Meanwhile the girls who like Jaune are glaring at Penny on screen who is being charmed by Jaune and they had to admit on screen Jaune knew how to flirt.

**Penny takes a breath before looking at Jaune. "Jaune, you're incorrigible." She said before taking another breath and looking at his lips. "What am I going to do with you?" Penny leans forward to kiss him.**

"**Well, let's toast to your evaluation, shall we?" Jaune says before kissing her, Penny moans and kisses Jaune more passionately. "A very thorough evaluation." **

"Think I saw a porno like that once." Sun whispered to his teammate, unfortunately Willow and Winter heard him. Neptune chose to remain silent as he too watched porn occasionally, he is a teenager after all and is surrounded by young attractive women.

Some of the woman in the audience found themselves turned on by the sight of Jaune kissing Penny and they wondered if he really is a good kisser. All the girls who like Jaune imagined themselves in Penny's position and got even more turned on.

Penny's face heated up at the sight of friend Jaune kissing her on screen counterpart and she wondered how a kiss would feel.

"So, they are just going to have sex in a car?" Blake asked turned on by the thought of it.

"Looks that way." Ilia said not turned on in the slightest before her mind supplemented Jaune with Blake and Penny as her.

**That evening Jaune drove through the city of Mistral and parked in front of a casino, exiting the car Jaune is met by the valet who asks him how he's doing this in the native language of Mistral. Jaune replies he's well and to take care of his car. **

"You clean up well, Vomit Boy." Yang told Jaune even though she knew that their Jaune and the on screen are two different people. It's easy to see how the two are similar, the only real difference between them is age and him being more experienced with women from what she saw with Penny. Still she couldn't help but imagine their Jaune wearing an outfit like what on screen Jaune is wearing and she liked what she imagined.

"I'll say." Coco said appreciatively lowering her glasses. "That's a custom-tailored suit. Costs more than your entire wardrobe and your bike."

Weiss blushed when she saw on screen Jaune wearing a tux with a bowtie, she could appreciate his clean look compared to his usual appearance and wondered if he could pull off a tux as well.

Even Blake could admit that Jaune looked handsome in a suit.

"I hate suits." Sun said slouching in his seat. "They never make them faunus friendly for those that have tails." He said remembering the one time he had to wear a suit for an assignment and had to cut a hole in the pants for his tail to move around freely.

**Walking toward the entrance of the casino Jaune spots a familiar red sports car among the others. Entering the casino Jaune blends in the others as he is wearing a tailored suit with a bowtie, walking Jaune looks for the driver of the red sports car and sees her at the card tables wearing a black dress with her hair in a bun. **

**As he approached the table it appeared the woman won in cards based the glum expression one of the men had when he left the table.**

"**Bets, ladies and gentlemen?" The dealer asked the audience while the woman lit a cigar. "No players?" The dealer asked.**

"**Banco." Jaune said taking a seat directly across from the woman who didn't say anything but smoked her cigar as she dealt the cards, handing two to Jaune who looked at them before setting them face down.**

"**It appears we share the same passions." Jaune said looking at his hand before looking to the woman. "Three, anyway."**

"**I count two: Motoring and baccarat." The woman replied before looking at her hand and placing the cards face up on the table. Jaune looked at the cards before showing his own.**

"Her accent is Atlasian." James noted, though it was faint he could tell. "Probably from Southern Atlas."

"Impressive." Ozpin said to his friend. "You have an ear for dialect?"

"Some, I was a soldier once." James said drinking his coffee. "Spent some years stationed at the bases around Atlas. Heard all the languages spoken around the kingdom.

"She may be an evil bitch, but she can pull off a dress." Qrow said eyeing the figure of Cinder.

"You know she works for Salem, right." Summer asked concerned for her friend.

"Still can appreciate how hot she looks."

"You need a wife."

"**Seven. Madam wins." The dealer announced making the woman smile at her victory.**

"**I hope the third is your real talent lies." The woman said looking at Jaune.**

"**One rises to meet the challenge." Jaune replied as the dealer gave the woman a fresh deck.**

"**Again?" She asked.**

"**Of course." Jaune said looking an older man who gave a nod to the dealer and placed chips in the table. The woman handed Jaune two cards while drawing the same number for herself. Looking at her hand Jaune could tell that it wasn't a good hand. "Card."**

**The woman set her cards face up and drew another card and slid it across the table before flipping it over. Jaune didn't give anything away but the woman took a puff of her cigar and glanced away for a moment knowing that her hand is bad.**

"**Madam stands with five." The dealer announced.**

**Jaune laid his cards down.**

"**Six, Madame loses." The dealer announced making her hit the table in frustration before swearing.**

"Reminds me of Yang as a child when she lost." Tai said reminiscing about the time she challenged Qrow to a fighting game and lost. When he came back home after picking up Ruby from the daycare, he found Yang sitting in the corner and Qrow with an icepack over his right eye in the kitchen. Turns out Yang punched Qrow for quote on quote "cheating".

"You weren't the one that got punched." Qrow mumbled under his breath also remembering the time Yang lost. After that Tai spoke to Yang about controlling her anger before sending her up to her room. Turns out Qrow didn't have his aura up at the time of the punch.

"Did you ever cheat again, uncle Qrow?" Summer asked innocently while trying not to laugh or smile.

"Shut up."

"Something tells me Cinder is like that back in our world." Blake whispered to Yang getting a nod from her.

"**Enjoy it while it lasts." She said to Jaune.**

"**The very words I live by." Jaune replied before the woman left the table. "And what words do you live by?" Jaune asked following the woman making her smirk.**

"**The trick is to quit while you're still ahead." She replied.**

"**That's a trick I've never learned." Jaune said waving over the waiter. "Perhaps you'll show me how it's done." The woman smiled slightly at the last part just as the waiter appeared. "Vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred." He told the waiter.**

"Are they flirting?" Sun asked confused.

"Looks that way." Neptune said while taking notes.

"Are you taking notes?" Sun whispered seeing his partner writing in a small notebook.

"He's good." Neptune whispered back while writing buy a car in his notebook.

"**And for you?" He asked the woman who took another puff of her cigar.**

"**The same." She said looking at Jaune as she said it.**

"**How do you take it?" Jaune asked.**

"**Straight up…" She replied moving her cigar so it stood straight. "With a twist." She said while twisting the cigar slowly. "Thank you, Mr…?"**

"**The name's Arc. Jaune Arc." **

"**Cinder Fall Onatopp." Cinder replied.**

"Onatopp?" Sun and Neptune asked at the same time, while Yang tried to hold back her laugh.

"She must be _Onatopp_ of things." Yang said laughing at the name as everyone silently groaned at Yang. Glynda wondered who would name their child Onatopp.

**Jaune wasn't sure he heard her last name fight. "Onatopp?"**

"**Onatopp." Cinder confirmed her last name.**

"**Your accent Southern Atlas?" Jaune asked with a nod of his head.**

"**Very good, Mr. Arc. You've been to Atlas?" Cinder asked crossing her arms under her chest.**

"**Not recently. I used to drop in occasionally." Jaune replied. "Shoot in and out."**

"**It's very different now. A land of opportunity." Cinder said uncrossing her arms.**

"**With a new Ferrari in every garage?" Jaune asked while waiting for their drinks.**

**Cinder chuckled and looked away then back at Jaune. "No, not quite. That belongs to a friend."**

"**A tip for your friend: Mistral registration plates for this year's model start with the letter "L"." Jaune told her while noticing that she is looking at something behind him to his left. "Even the counterfeit ones."**

**Cinder appeared to be surprised at this information. "Oh? And what rank do you hold with the Motor Vehicles Department… Mr. Arc?"**

"**Commander." Jaune replied just as an older man wearing a Mistral Officers Uniform. **

"**Shall we go?" The Officer asked Cinder who smiled before taking a step back towards the Officer.**

"**This one is an Admiral." Cinder said getting closer to the Admiral.**

**Jaune sighed. "I like a woman who enjoys pulling rank."**

"Good to know." Velvet whispered making a note to try that with Jaune. Coco hid her smirk by drinking tea, she knew Velvet to be shy when it came to social gatherings but in the comforts of her own room, she can be a force of nature with how much she plans and works.

Ghira looked to Kali when Jaune said he loves a woman pulling rank, so does he. Ghira may be the face of Menagerie but in the bedroom Kali is the ruler.

**Cinder smiled again. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Arc." She said before leaving with the Admiral.**

"**The pleasure, I'm sure, was all mine." Jaune said keeping an eye on the retreating couple.**

**Jaune followed Cinder and Admiral from a distance to the back of the casino where a play is in progress for the guests and tourists. Jaune walked up the stairs of the bleachers until he was at the top, here he had a good view of the marina where he saw the red sports car pass through the gate. He could Cinder and the Admiral exit the car, reaching into his coat pocket Jaune pulled out a monocular and zoomed in until he could see Cinder more clearly.**

**Pressing a button on the side of the monocular he took her photo before taking a photo of the boat they're getting into. Putting the monocular away Jaune watched the boat drive off to a yacht docked in the marina and took note of the name to check out in the morning. **

"Interesting, such a tool would be beneficial." James said taking note of the design. The design would help recon squads in identifying their targets instead of relying on their scrolls.

Sienna also made a note of the design, such a thing would make scouting future SDC bases easier.

**Returning to his car Jaune unlocked the door and looked at the nearby Mistral battleship, on the rear deck is a helicopter. Entering his car Jaune pressed a button on the dashboard's CD player and a paper printed out with the photos he took along with some information.**

"That car has everything." Yang said. "Portable cooler and now a printer. What else does it have?"

"Maybe it can turn into a boat!" Ruby said already thinking of different possibilities Jaune's car can do.

"Or it can turn invisible!" Nora added.

"Or we can continue watching and see." Coco said looking at the trio with a glare silencing them before focusing back on the screen.

"**Transmission begins from Goodwitch." The AI in his car said as he grabbed the paper and began reviewing it as Goodwitch's voice came on.**

Everyone looked at the blonde teacher surprised to see and hear that she is in this universe. They wondered what her role is and if she is the same as their teacher.

"_**Identification conformed. Onatopp, Cinder. EX-Atlas fighter pilot. Current suspected links to the Janus crime syndicate, Atlas."**_

**Jaune set the paper down as he continued to listen.**

"_**Yacht Manticore is leased to a known Janus corporate front. M authorizes you to observe Miss Onatopp but stipulates no… contact without prior approval."**_

**Jaune smiled at the last part as he looked at the marina in the distance. **

"_**End of transmission. Goodwitch. Good night, Jaune. I trust you'll stay "Onatopp" of things."**_

"Miss G made a pun." Yang said happy that someone else is making puns. First Weiss and Glynda, who's next she wondered.

"I can assure you, Miss Xio Long. That I won't be making puns anytime soon." Glynda told the blonde brawler. Ozpin cleared his throat remembering the blonde teacher in her youth.

**On the Manticore Cinder and the Admiral are having what can only be described as passionate animalistic sex. Cinder jumps onto the Admiral wearing a corset and black stockings before kissing him and biting his shoulder, sitting up she drags the Admiral up and licks his nose before shoving him back down and scratching his chest. The Admiral responds by grunting and flips her over so she's on her back and Cinder wraps her legs around his midsection and begins squeezing.**

"Animalistic is right." Willow said recalling some memories from her youth making her blush.

Yang once again covered her sister's eyes making her pout and attempted to get free but gave up and crossed her arms in frustration.

"Reminds me of our wedding night." Kali whispered to her husband making him blush a deep shade of red. Ghira still had scars from that night that he told Blake were from a Beowolf that had pounced on him.

Qrow took in the form of Cinder in her lingerie and had to cross his legs to hide his growing erection. Even though she works for Salem, he couldn't deny that Cinder is hot not only in a dress but also in lingerie.

"You have no standards." Summer told her friend with a disapproving frown.

Sun and Neptune also admired Cinder and couldn't help but imagine their selves in place of the Admiral.

**The Admiral grunts not in pleasure but pain as Cinder squeezes harder. "Cinder, I can't breathe!" **

**Cinder isn't listening as she continues to squeeze with her legs slowly killing the Admiral and she gets pleasure out of it based on her squeals of delight and loud moaning. While that is going on a figure is going through the Admiral's jacket and removes his ID.**

"Still think she's hot?" Summer asked noticing the way Qrow flinched. Sun and Neptune also flinched when Cinder killed the Admiral using just her thighs.

"I've heard of killer thighs, but I never thought I would get to see it." Tai said with a smirk earning a light punch from his wife easing some of the unease of seeing death on screen.

**The next morning Cinder and the fake Admiral leave the Manticore for the docked Mistralian warship giving an opportunity for Jaune to sneak aboard the yacht and investigate Cinder. Jaune enters the cabin and goes to the window where he sees the boat Cinder is on heading for the docked warship.**

**Glancing down Jaune sees in the reflection of a brass object someone coming behind him. Quickly grabbing a towel from a nearby seat Jaune snaps the towel at the man's face knocking him off balance but the man quickly recovers and swings his makeshift weapon at Jaune who blocks it with the towel. Wrapping the towel around the weapon Jaune hits the man in the face with his own weapon staggering him, Jaune wraps the towel around the man's head and flips him over throwing him down the stairs leading the lower cabins. **

**Seeing that the man isn't getting back up Jaune wipes the sweat off his face with the towel he used to defend himself before moving to search the rest of the yacht.**

"Impressive." Tai said impressed at on screen Jaune's fighting skills and for using a towel as a defensive weapon.

"Never knew a towel could be dangerous." Ren said after watching the fight and wondering if he can use some of the moves, he saw his friend use. Seeing Jaune wipe his face of sweat with the towel he used to defend himself also brought a smile to him.

"Anything can be used as a weapon." Raven said crossing her legs having once used a soda can to kill. "In trained hands, everything becomes a weapon."

**Meanwhile at the warship a celebration is happening with Admirals from the different kingdoms appearing. The Admiral's ID was shown, and Cinder and the fake Admiral were allowed in. Making their way to the docked ship they are stopped by an Admiral from Vale who salutes the fake Admiral.**

"**My respects, Admiral." The Vale Admiral lowers his salute when the fake Admiral returns the salute and looks to Cinder taking one of her hands and placing a kiss on it. "Delighted to have aboard, mademoiselle."**

**Cinder smiles at the Vale Admiral when a Mistralian officer makes his way through the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your seats on the upper deck for the demonstration of the aircraft."**

"What is their objective?" Winter asked pondering what they could be after.

"The helicopter would be my guess." Port said ordering some coffee. "Even Jaune seemed to be interested in it."

"That could also be why they needed the Admiral's ID." James said slowing putting the pieces together. "His ID will grant them access to area's sealed to the public."

**Back on the Yacht, Jaune kicks open the bedroom with his weapon drawn and checks the room noticing that everything is clean and tidy. Checking the closet, the body of the Admiral falls out onto the floor, the Admiral appeared to have died with a smile on his face. Putting the pieces together Jaune leaves the yacht and jumps onto the docked speedboat next to the boat, starting the boat Jaune heads for the warship **

"I can think of worse ways to go." Sun said getting nods from Neptune and Qrow.

"Of course, you would." Blake whispered before ordering a refill on her tea. Yang was going to make a comment but decided against it feeling it would be in poor taste.

"Let's hope that Mr. Arc can stop them." Glynda said having faith in her student.

"I know he will." Pyrrha said to herself but Jaune heard and smiled at her faith in him. He still needed to talk to the others but not right now.

"**What you're about to see in operation is Mistral's answer to the electronic battlefield." A Mistral Admiral addresses the crowd on the upper deck of the warship. "The first working prototype of the "Tiger" helicopter. Uniquely maneuverable, the Tiger not only uses stealth technology. It's the only helicopter hardened against all forms of electronic interference, radio jamming and electromagnetic radiation."**

"Such a vehicle could help us." Sienna said thinking of the many operations in the past that would have been a success if they had this Tiger helicopter. It would also help in getting operatives across borders.

Raven would have agreed but stealth was never her strong suit, she preferred the jump into action route, she left the planning to Summer and Tai.

James could see the benefit of having such a vehicle in their possession but at the same time he also saw the flaws. Since their primary enemy is the Grimm, stealth would be useless against them and the Tiger would only be useful against human opponents _'Maybe against the White Fang?'_

Ozpin is glad that such a vehicle doesn't exist, or else Salem would have acquired it and used it to smuggle her agents into the kingdoms. As the technology advanced, she had taken to adapting them for her own purposes.

**While the Admiral is addressing the crowd the two pilots are heading toward the flight deck to pilot the Tiger when a whistle gets their attention. Turning around they see Cinder wearing a low-cut top.**

"**Shh, I have a small surprise from your friends back at the barracks." Cinder tells them while her hand goes between her breasts drawing their attention.**

**One of the pilots looks to his copilot. "I think I've gone to heaven." He says while smiling before looking back at Cinder. Both men are eyeing Cinder who smiles seductively.**

"**Not yet." She tells them before drawing a silenced pistol and shooting both pilots. Taking their flight uniforms and helmets Cinder and the fake Admiral walk to the flight deck. Cinder puts on the flight helmet while the fake admiral walks by her and pats her shoulder which brings a smile to her face before she lowers the visor obscuring her face.**

"Never trust a beautiful woman." Oobleck said remembering how one time when he was younger, he was robbed by a beautiful woman who slipped him a spiked drink. The next morning, he awoke to find his wallet and weapon gone, the only thing left behind was a card with a lipstick kiss on it.

"Amen." Qrow said recalling the times he was also robbed by a beautiful woman.

"**Please welcome the pilots." The Admiral tells the crowd as the fake pilot's step onto the flight deck and wave back at the crowd as they approach the Tiger helicopter.**

"**Lieutenant Commander Bernard Jaubert and Lieutenant Francois Brouse." The Admiral introduces the pilots as the audience claps and the pilots enter the helicopter and begin starting it up. Jaune makes it to the docks and runs towards the warship hoping to stop the high jacking.**

"Is he going to make it?" Ruby asked hoping that Jaune would stop them.

"Keep watching." Weiss told her partner.

**The helicopter fully powers and lifts off just as Jaune reaches the platform leading to the upper deck of the ship and shoves a guard out of the way to run onto the ship. He makes it onto the deck of the ship only to get grabbed and forced against the hull of the ship by guards, the guard that Jaune shoved aims a pistol at him. Jaune can't do anything but watch as the Tiger helicopter flies away, and the audience continue to clap thinking it's part of the demonstration.**

"He was too late." Weiss said ordering some tea. "At least he tried."

"Stupid soldiers stopped him." Ruby pouted and slouched in her seat.

"They're simply doing their job, Miss Rose." James said drinking his coffee. "In fact, I would be worried if the guards simply let him pass." Ruby didn't say anything but grumbled something that no one heard

**In the snow fields a man is riding a sled being pulled by snow dogs.**

**Space Weapons Control Center – Severnaya, Atlas**

"I haven't heard of such a place." James said knowing all of the bases in Atlas.

"Spart did say that things are different since it's a merger universe." Winter said interested in seeing what the Space Weapons Center is and what they do. Everyone is also interested since they don't have a space center back in their world.

"Such magnificent creatures." Glynda said eyeing the snow dogs, she has a secret love of dogs and wishes that she had one with her back at Beacon but pets aren't allowed.

**Severnaya is an outpost with a large radar dish surround by a few houses, the man riding the sled approaches one of the houses. Underneath the radar dish is a secret facility manned by civilian personal and a few guards. Each of the civilians are working at their stations and facing a large screen on the wall showing a map of Remnant.**

"**Select Meer. Autoghraphic projection." One of the civilian works is a woman with short red hair wearing a skirt and blouse covered by a grey sweater. "Compute possible intercept with second stage geo-sat two." The woman tells the computer when the screen changes to show her drawn in a cartoon wearing nothing but a leopard print bikini and posing suggestively. Next to the image a screen with the words Enter Password.**

"Looks like it's my turn on the big screen." Nora said upon seeing herself wondering what her role is in this 'verse.

"So it seems." Ren said smiling at his friend and adopted sister.

"I've seen similar pieces of _art_." Glynda said with disdain upon seeing the art of Nora.

**The woman sighs and looks to her neighbor who is a guy with short brown hair, wearing round glasses and wearing a leather jacket. He is tapping a pen against his lips and staring at his computer monitor.**

"**Anna?" The woman leans back in her chair and gets the attention of her other neighbor behind her who looks at the computer screen to show the cartoon woman.**

**The woman sighs disgusted while looking at the man wearing the leather jacket. "He wouldn't know a woman if one came up and sat on his head." **

**The woman laughs at the joke. "Boris?" She calls her neighbor who doesn't hear her and types something. "Boris!"**

"**What?" Boris says looking away from his computer to her, the woman gestures with her head to the screen making the man chuckle. "I thought I'd post in on the net, no?" He says while moving his eyebrows up and down.**

"I've met people like him before." Kali said with disdain for the man named Boris. Almost all of the women in the room agreed with her since they all met at least one person like Boris.

"**What's the password?" The woman asks knowing that Boris has a thing for word puzzles.**

"**I made it easy this time. Even you should be able to break it." Boris tells her leaning back in his chair. "Borscht for brains." The woman fixes her sleeves and Boris rolls his chair over to her. "All right, I'll give you a hint." He tells her coming up behind her.**

"**They are right in front of you and can open very large doors."**

**The woman takes a second to think before typing "Knockers" in the password screen. "You're such a geek!" She tells Boris who laughs before a beeping from his computer gets his attention.**

"**Yes! I'm in!" Boris says with excitement and rolls back to his station. The woman removes her headset and goes to see what Boris is up to now.**

"**You've hacked into Vale's Department of Justice." She says upon seeing the screen. "Do you know what'll happen if they trace it here?" She asks Boris who brushes it off.**

"Why is he hacking into the Department of Justice?" Blake asked with a tilt of her head.

"Probably to prove he can." Ilia said knowing some White Fang members who like to do that as well. Not hacking but taking on high risk missions just to prove that they can hang with the best of the White Fang.

"**The chief of computers will call me a genius. Move me to Atlas and give me a million lien hard currency. I think not." Boris says shaking his head. "Besides, the Vales are slug-heads. They'll never detect me." The moment he said that the screen changed to show an orange box with the words "Unauthorized Access Detected" on it.**

"**You were saying, slug-head?" The woman tells Boris who begins typing away furiously.**

"**Nobody screws with Boris Grishenko." Boris said as he begins typing and brings up a screen with the words "Send Spike". "Spiked them!" he declares proudly as the words "Initiate Search Program" appear.**

"**Come on, Boris. Just hang up." The woman says still looking over his shoulder.**

"**No way! I spiked them." He said before a screen asking for the password appears which brings a smile to his face.**

"What's spiking?" Velvet asked.

"Never heard the term." Coco said ordering a brownie to nibble on.

"Could be a hacker thing?" Ilia said from her spot next to Sienna.

"**All right, what's the password?" The woman asks Boris who continues to smile.**

"**I'm not going to tell you."**

"**Let me guess." The woman says looking at the screen then to Boris. "It's not in front of me?"**

**Boris shakes his head then leans in. "You sit on it, but you can't take it with you." Boris then enters the password and begins the Search Program. "My program seizes the phone line of whoever is tracing me and jams their modem so they can't hang up. Now the hunted becomes the hunter." The search program completes and brings up a screen showing the computer fraud division of the Vale Justice Department.**

"Sit on it, but can't take it with you?" Yang said tapping her finger against her lips trying to think of the answer.

"Chair." Ren simply said drinking some of his herbal tea. Everyone looked at Ren surprised.

"Renny also loves word games." Nora told them with a smile.

"Huh, the more you know." Yang said focusing back on the screen.

"**Oooh, better luck next time. Slug-heads!" Boris says and types the message out onto the screen so it will appear on the Vale Justice Department before logging out. "Bang! Gone! I am invincible!" He shouts standing up and drawing the attention of everyone in the room for a few seconds before they go back to work. "Was it good for you too?" He asks the woman who sighs at his antics.**

"**I'm getting some coffee." She said before heading to the break room.**

"**I'm going for a cigarette." Boris replies before grabbing his thick jacket and heading to the surface. Once outside Boris grabs a cigarette and his lighter and goes to smoke. Before he can though a strong gust of wind blows out the flame, removing the cigarette from his mouth Boris looks up when he hears a sound to see a black helicopter descending.**

"That looks like the stolen helicopter." Li said recognizing the design to be similar to the stolen Tiger.

"What are they planning." Ozpin said to himself and asking the question on everyone's mind.

**When the helicopter lands Boris sees two people exiting the helicopter, a man and a woman who removes her flight helmet.**

**Cinder removes the helmet and tosses it onto the pilot's chair of the helicopter and grabs an officer's hat with the Atlas Specialists emblem on it. Putting on the hat to complete the Specialists uniform she is wearing while the man turns around to reveal Colonel Schnee who hands her an automatic rifle before straightening his coat.**

"What are they doing?" Winter asked appalled to see a woman like Cinder donning the Specialists uniform.

"Do you think Jacque is with Cinder?" James asked his friend.

"I can't say, she could be using him." Ozpin replied.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he is." Willow said drinking water. "Jacque is always looking out for himself. So, if Cinder offered him something that could benefit him, then he would side with her."

**Back in the facility the woman finishes making her coffee while Cinder and Colonel Schnee enter the facility. "General Jacque Schnee. Head of Space Division." He tells the scanner when they approach the locked gate, it takes the scanner a few seconds to authorize General Schnee and when it does the gate opens.**

"They made him a General?" James said surprised that he went from a Colonel to a General. He never thought the man had it in him.

"He's also the head of Space Division. Whatever that is." Winter said not all surprised to see that her father had been promoted to General. The man always had eyes for the highest position of power.

**Inside the facility an Atlas Officer exits his office with the guards and quickly puts on his hat and goes to greet the General and his escort and salutes the General. "General, if I'd known-"**

"**You'd have been ready." General Schnee tells the officer while removing his gloves. "This is an unscheduled test of the Servernaya facility, Major. War simulation. We're going to test fire GoldenEye. Report your status."**

"**Two operational satellites, sir. Winter and Weiss, both in 90-minute Remnant orbit at 100 kilometers." The Major told the General.**

"What's GoldenEye?" Pyrrha asked with a tilt of her head.

"Whatever it is. It can't be good." Blake said before looking to her teammate. "It would seem that you don't exist in this universe, save for your name."

"It would appear so." Weiss agreed. _'Since father is in the military, that would mean mother never married him and had us.'_

"Atlasians and their names." Qrow said earning him a light punch from Summer and a glare from both Winter and James.

"**Good." General Schnee replied reaching into his coat and pulling out card handing it to the Major. "Here is the authorization code. Now the GoldenEye and today's access numbers for the satellite Winter, please." General Schnee pushed back his sleeve to show his watch. "I am timing you."**

**The Major saluted again and left for the scanner to the safe. Swiping the access card and placing his hand on the scanner which produced another card with codes, swiping the card again opening the safe to revel the access codes stored within a tablet sized device with a gold gem in the center and the two arming keys. Taking the tablet and the arming keys out of the safe which the woman saw from the break room.**

**Returning to the General with the tablet and keys, the Major handed them over. The General took the items and checked his watch. "Good. Thank you, Major." Just then Cinder took the safety off her weapon and opened fire killing the Major and his guard before quickly turning and killing the guard behind her. Cinder turned her weapon on the civilian workers killing them while growing aroused at the death. **

**Releasing the trigger Cinder moaned and bit her lower lip as she looked at the dead. General  
Schnee looked at Cinder in disbelief that she grew aroused from killing before schooling his features and heading to the command console for the Goldeneye satellites, Cinder holstered the weapon and followed. **

Everyone in the audience couldn't believe what they just seen. Cinder had just killed all the people in the room and grew aroused by it.

Ruby hid in her hood scared of the woman and hoped to never met her, at the same time she felt sad for all the people who died on screen.

Yang's eyes shifted red at the sight and swore that if she ever met the Cinder on screen, she would pummel her into the ground. Seeing Ruby shake in her hood, Yang embraced her sister comforting her.

"No one should take joy in death." Ghira said and Ozpin thought of the scorpion faunus known as Tyrian.

**Entering the tablet into the command console activated the weapons system, handing one of the arming keys to Cinder. Together they inserted the arming keys on opposite sides of the tablet. "On my count. Three…two…one." Both turned the keys at the same time activating the second stage of the arming process. On the large screen it changed to show a map of Remnant and two curved lined that showed the paths the Goldeneye satellites take.**

"**Set target. Severnaya." General Schnee tells Cinder handing her the arming codes. Entering the coordinates for the facility, the screen shows the facility and one of the lines moves so it's over it. "Arm the weapon." Cinder enters the firing code and General Schnee unlocks the arming switch for the weapon and arms it.**

* * *

**Above Remnant the Winter satellite activates and solar panels fold out from the sides of the satellite giving it wings as it moves into position.**

* * *

**Back at the facility Cinder enters the final code and a screen appears showing that the weapon is armed, and a blinking dot appears on the screen representing the satellite slowly moves toward the facility. The sound of crunching glass coming from the break room gets their attention. **

"I forgot Nora was in the break room." Pyrrha said worried for her friend.

"I did too." Blake said surprising everyone who knows the cat faunus, since she is the most observant one in team RWBY.

"Considering what we just witnessed. It's understandable." An said with a gentle voice easing everyone's nerve after seeing the death of everyone on screen. Li nodded at his wife knowing that she used her semblance.

"**Check it." The General tells Cinder who reloads her weapon.**

**The woman quickly gets away from the window and tries to find a place to hide.**

**Cinder doesn't see that one of the civilians is still alive and hits the alarm. Hearing the alarm going off Cinder kills the man giving the woman time to grab a chair and try to open the ventilation cover in the break room.**

"**Their best response time is 19 minutes. They'll be late." General Schnee tells Cinder who goes to the break room.**

* * *

**Meanwhile three pilots at a nearby airbase run to their air crafts as an alarm goes off.**

* * *

**Entering the break room Cinder checks the room and sees a broken coffee cup on the floor along the contents. Kneeling down she touches the liquid and feels it's still warm, looking up she sees the loose ventilation cover and fires at the cover and the ceiling while smiling and panting aroused.**

"She's crazy." Qrow said before taking a sip from his flask. Ozpin agreed with the statement as did everyone in the room.

**General Schnee places the tablet and the arming keys in a briefcase which he takes as he heads for the exit. Cinder joins him and checks her weapon. "It's clean. I had to ventilate someone."**

* * *

**Above the planet the Winter satellite slowly moves into position.**

* * *

**Outside the facility Cinder and General Schnee leave via the helicopter they arrived in just as the Sparrow aircrafts take off from the base.**

* * *

**MI6 headquarters – Arcadia**

"MI6?" Coco asked looking to Spart for information.

"The agency that Jaune works for." Spart told the fashionista before focusing back on the screen.

"Are we going to see your home kingdom?" Pyrrha asked looking to Jaune.

"Maybe…" Jaune said looking to the screen wondering if Arcadia on screen will be different from his.

**Jaune enters the office of Goodwitch and sees the blonde woman wearing a black dress grabbing files. "Good evening, Goodwitch."**

"**Good evening, Jaune." Goodwitch replies stepping out from behind her desk carrying some files. "M will meet you in the situation room. I'll take you straight in."**

"**I've never seen you after hours, Goodwitch. Lovely." Jaune tells the older blonde woman as she exits her office carrying a stack of papers.**

"**Thank you, Jaune."**

"**Out on some kind of professional assignment. Dressing to kill?" Jaune asks as they turn a corner and continue walking.**

"If dressing to kill was real. Then Miss Goodwitch would be killing men left and right." Yang said throwing a thumbs up to their teacher who blushed at the sight of her wearing a dress. When was the last time she went wearing a dress, a long time it would seem. She also found it weird to see her student flirting with her, though she could admit that an older Jaune is handsome.

James smiled at the image of Glynda in a dress, remembering when he asked her out to dinner years ago. She wore a black dress that clung to her frame and she even had her hair done making her more beautiful. He missed those times before finding out the truth about the Grimm and Salem, that revelation put a stain on their relationship.

"**I know you'll find this crushing, 007. But I don't sit at home every night praying for some international incident. So I can run down here all dressed up to impress Jaune Arc." Goodwitch tells Jaune looking over her shoulder as Jaune walks beside her. "I was on a date with a gentleman. We went to the theatre together." She says when the reach the situation room and enters the code for the door as Jaune leans on the wall next to Goodwitch.**

"**Goodwitch, I'm devastated. What would I ever do without you?" Jaune asked as the door beeps and opens for the duo.**

"**As far as I can remember, Jaune… you've never had me." She replies as they enter the situation room and Jaune steps in front of her as they wait for the inner doors to open.**

"I like this version of Goodwitch." Peter said drinking his coffee.

"Indeed, she seems more open than ours." Oobleck said agreeing with his fellow teacher. Both were unaware of Glynda behind them until it was too late. Glynda slapped the back of their heads.

"I'm right here!" The blonde teacher said before walking back to her seat.

"I thought there was no fighting in the theater." Peter said rubbing the back of her head.

"I figured Glynda could use a freebie." Spart told them with a humorous tone to his voice.

"**Hope springs eternal."**

"**You know, this sort of behavior could qualify as sexual harassment." **

"**Really?" Jaune askes. "What's the penalty for that?"**

"**Someday you have to make good on your innuendos." Goodwitch answers as the inner doors open for them.**

"Definitely prefer her over ours." Peter whispered to his friend who nodded in agreement. Suddenly they both felt a chill go up their spines, looking over to Glynda they saw her glaring at them.

"She reminds me of Yang." Weiss said getting nods from her classmates except for her Yang who just shrugged.

"**After you, Goodwitch."**

"**No, I insist… you first." Goodwitch tells Jaune who smiles and goes first into the situation room. Inside the room is a large screen along the wall composed of sixteen screens linked together. Various intelligent analysts work at their stations going over intel and providing back up to agents in the field.**

"**Good evening, 007." One of the men in the room says.**

"**Oobleck. What's up?" Jaune asks approaching Oobleck who gestures to a nearby computer.**

"I make an appearance as well." Oobleck said taking a sip of his coffee. "Surprising, I wonder what role I play."

"**Sixteen minutes ago, we intercepted a distress call from a supposedly abandoned radar station at Severnaya." Oobleck tells Jaune before zooming in on the screen to show the radar station from a satellite. "Looks what the satellite picked up." Zooming in the screen an outline of a helicopter. "We found a match. Your missing Tiger."**

"**In the middle of Northern Atlas?" Jaune asked looking at the screen more closely.**

"**Seems your hunch was right, 007. it's too bad the evil queen of numbers won't let you play it." Oobleck says with a smile while Jaune doesn't say anything. Grimacing Oobleck turns around and sees their boss standing behind them.**

"I hate when that happens." Tai said remembering when he insulted the headmaster of Signal ad got put in charge of being the mascot during fairs and other events.

"Same." Yang said agreeing with her dad on the matter.

"It's never fun." Qrow said taking another sip from his flask.

"**You were saying?" M asks holding her hands together in front of her. M is an older woman with short salt and pepper hair. She is also on the short side but more than makes up for it with an imposing presence.**

**Oobleck tries to play it cool. "No, no. I was just-"**

"**Good." M cuts off Oobleck mid sentence. "Because if I want sarcasm, Mr. Oobleck. I'll talk to my children, thank you very much." That shuts up Oobleck as he nods and looks away. "Good evening, 007."**

"**Good evening, M."**

"**The Prime Minister's waiting for an update." M informs the two. "Proceed with your briefing, Mr. Oobleck"**

"**Thank you." Oobleck says stepping around Jaune to put space between him and M. "After the distress signal, your helicopter took off." Oobleck walks over to the screens and touches the screen zooming in. "Then Atlas scrambled these three Sparrows to intercept it." Oobleck points at three triangles approaching the facility.**

"**What is Atlas using the base for?" Jaune asked looking at the screen showing the region that the base is located.**

"**Well, at one point, we suspected Severnaya might be the ground station for a secret space based weapons program called GoldenEye. But we-"**

"**Our analysis is that they had neither the finance nor technology to implement it." M said once again cutting off Oobleck.**

"**Numbers were never my strong suit." Jaune tells M who tilts her head slightly before turning to the screen. "Are these pictures live?"**

**Oobleck opened his mouth to talk but once again M cut him off. "Unlike the Vale government, we prefer to not get the bad news from Lisa Lavender."**

"That is just unnecessary." Ozpin said defending Vale.

"But you have to admit, whenever something happens Lisa is always on the scene reporting." Leon said looking at the headmaster. "Even our intelligence agents joke about turning on the news and getting all the information from Lisa."

"Is that true?" Glynda asked interested in the conversation.

"The same thing in Atlas." James added.

"And in Mistral." Pyrrha said.

"Vacou too." Sun said in between bites of banana bread.

"Menagerie as well." Ghira said as well.

Ozpin didn't say anything and drank his coffee in silence agitated with everyone.

**Fast approaching the facility are the three Sparrows.**

* * *

**Inside the break room the woman climbs out of the cabinet under the sink and quickly looks around making sure she's alone. Outside the facility the three Sparrows fly over the facility.**

"Clever girl." Qrow said surprised at the creative hiding place. "By loosening the vent cover, Cinder would have thought she was hiding in the vent."

"When she is actually hiding in the cabinets." Tai finished what Qrow was saying.

"That's the kind of thinking all of our students should demonstrate." Ozpin said to no one in particular while drinking his coffee.

"**Negative so far. Everything seems normal." One of the pilot's says over the radio as he flies over the facility.**

* * *

**Back inside the facility the woman stands in the center of the room looking at the bodies of her coworkers unsure of what to do. An alarm goes off getting her attention as she looks at the screen and sees that the Winter satellite is now in position over the facility and preparing to fire. Quickly running to under the concrete stairs just in time as the satellite fires a powerful EMP at the facility.**

"What's EMP?" Ruby asked having heard of such a weapon.

"I'm not sure, but we might be seeing the effects soon." James said focusing on the screen to see what can EMP can do.

**Outside the facility an invisible shockwave appears and goes outward from the facility. Seconds later the blue sparks appear on the radar dish and explosions start to go off from anything electrical such as computers. Taking cover under the stairs the woman is shielded from the explosions and debris.**

* * *

**Back at MI6 the large screen showing the facility glows bright white before static takes over.**

"**What the hell was that?" Oobleck asks confused as is everyone in the situation room.**

"Interesting." Oobleck said producing a small notebook and writing down what he is seeing. "it would appear that anything electronic is affected by the EMP."

"So, it would seem." James said suddenly interested in the EMP weapon. Sienna is also interested in the weapon, such a weapon in the hands of the White Fang would be beneficial to their cause.

**The Sparrows are also affected by the EMP blast, blue sparks appear on the planes and inside the cockpit the controls exploded. The pilots scream in pain as their helmets begin to heat up. One of the Sparrows spin out of the control before exploding and soon the second explodes as well.**

**Meanwhile Cinder and General Schnee are safe in the Tiger since it's shielded from an EMP attack, the same can't be said for the third Sparrow which is in a nosedive and heading for the radar dish. The pilot screams as he tries to open the cockpit and his helmet growing hotter. The Sparrow crashes into the radar dish causing a large explosion.**

"That's why they stole the Tiger." James said finally putting the pieces together. "It's shielded from the EMP allowing them to escape and it also wipes out any traces of their crime."

"What could they want with the other satellite?" Summer wondered.

**Inside the facility the woman screams when pipe near hear ruptures and hot steam spews forth. Running out from under the stairs she trips on the leg of one of her coworkers and rolls onto her back to see the hanging monitors on the ceiling come crashing toward her. Screaming she covers her head and prepares to be crushed when the monitors are stopped less than two feet from her by the attached cables. Looking at the monitors she quickly climbs out from under the monitors before they snap.**

"That was scary." Ruby said relieved that her friend is safe from harm. She also felt for everyone that died.

"At least Nora made it out alive." Yang said relieved to see her friend make it out alive.

"But she's still trapped inside the facility with no power and limited oxygen." Blake pointed out ordering some tea.

**Grabbing a jacket, the woman covers the body of her friend and sniffs trying to hold back her tears before heading for the exit. "Nora Valkyrie." Nora says her name to get the gate to open but it doesn't since it was destroyed by the EMP. Grabbing the bars of the gate she begins shaking them as she repeats her name and stops when a groaning sound can be heard.**

**Looking to the ceiling she hears the groaning sound again this time part of the ceiling collapses as part of the radar comes crashing through the ceiling. Nora looks at the debris and sees a support column still intact and she finds her way out.**

**Climbing out of the ruined bunker Nora takes in her surroundings and hugs herself to keep warm as she calls out for Boris who left the facility just before the attack.**

"See, she made it out." Pyrrha said to Blake who rolled her eyes and drank her tea.

"How is she going to deal with the cold?" Weiss asked.

**Oobleck is on his scroll calling in some favors. "Thanks." Hanging up the scroll Oobleck looks at Jaune and M. "Our satellite is knocked out. So are two of Vale's, we have another coming into range… now." He says just as the large screen flickers back to life showing the aftermath of the EMP blast. "Gods. Two of the Sparrows are down." **

"**And it looks like the third went into the dish." M says pointing to the destroyed radar dish. "What do you think?" She asks Jaune.**

**Jaune looks back at the screen and zooms out. "No lights. Not one single electric light on in a 30-mile radius. EMP?" He asks Oobleck.**

"**It would account for the Sparrows and satellites." Oobleck says.**

"**And the blackout."**

"**Electromagnetic Pulse. A first strike satellite weapon developed by—"**

"**Vale and Atlas during the Faunus Uprising. I've read the brief." M says once again cutting off Oobleck. "Discovered after Menagerie. Set off a nuclear device in the upper atmosphere. Creates a pulse. A radiation surge that destroys everything with an electronic circuit."**

"Looks like your hunch was right, Dr. Oobleck." James told the green haired coffee drinker. "What's a nuclear device? I'm not familiar with such a device."

"A weapon of untold destruction." Spart simply said. "Be thankful that such a weapon doesn't exist in your world line." Everyone shivered at his tone and wondered just made a nuclear device so scary that even Spart is wary of them.

Ozpin is glad that the GoldenEye doesn't exist back in their world. He shuddered to think of the destruction Salem could cause if she unleashed an EMP blast on any of the kingdoms. Since everything they need to function operates on an electronic circuit, even huntsmen's weapons operate with a chip in them to switch forms. An EMP blast would render them stuck in one form and their weapons would be disabled allowing the Grimm to overrun them.

"**Yes, the idea was to knock out the enemy's communications before he, she or they could retaliate." Oobleck said adding on to what M just said.**

"**So GoldenEye exists." M said looking at both men.**

"**Yes." Jaune agreed.**

"**Could this be an accident?" M asked secretly hoping that it was and not deliberately set off.**

"**No." Jaune said getting her attention. "The helicopter. If you wanted to steal the GoldenEye, it's the perfect getaway vehicle. Setting off the blast is an ideal way to wipe out any traces of the crime."**

"**The Janus group?" M asked.**

"**It may have been involved with the helicopter." Jaune said looking back at the screen. "I know the Atlas fail safe system. You just don't walk in and ask for the keys to the bomb. You need the access codes." Jaune sees something on the screen and zooms in to see a heat signature leaving the burning building. "There had to be an insider. At least one person probably knows who it is."**

"Had to be that Boris guy." Ilia said thinking back to when he left the facility just as they arrived. "He left minutes before Cinder and Jacque arrived and now is nowhere to be found."

"They could have killed him when they arrived." Ren said drinking his tea.

"Then the cameras outside the facility would have spotted them doing so, rendering their plan useless as the guards engage the lockdown." Ilia pointed out.

"Boris could have hidden when he spotted them." Ren countered.

"If we continue watching, we'll find out." Li suggested.

**Outside the facility Nora trips and falls in the snow, the cold biting and already her hands are going numb which isn't a good sign. Slowly getting back up she hears howling and whining, following the sounds she comes across a dog sled with the owner dead. **

**Nora approaches the dead body and sees that he did not die from a gunshot but something else. "Sorry." She said before removing his jacket and taking his gloves and putting them on, with the cold situation sorted out Nora took the dog sled and went to the nearest town.**

"At least she made it." Jaune said making his teammate smile for his concern.

"That reminds me. Have you two made it official?" Yang asked turning in her seat to face Jaune and Pyrrha. She also wanted to know what the spartan wanted with her sister along with the group of girls when they went into a private room to talk about something.

"We have." Pyrrha answered when Jaune was about too. "We also agreed to speak after this showing." The redhead told Jaune making him confused, didn't they speak last night, unaware that she is referring to the other girls that have crush on him.

"We know." Nora said with a sigh making Jaune even more confused. Everyone took in the news that Jaune and Pyrrha are now a thing. Weiss felt happy that he wouldn't be bothering her again. Yang felt somewhat happy but worried for her sister and planned to go their talk after this viewing.

Ren is happy for his teammate but also worried about Nora, he planned to have a talk with Jaune soon. Blake didn't really care since she didn't really know them all that well. Sun and Neptune wondered how Jaune managed to get with Pyrrha Nikos.

Everyone else smiled at the young couple and wondered what else might happen in the future before focusing back on the screen.

**Back at MI6, Jaune is with M in her office and she's on her scroll. "Very well, sir. Thank you. Good night." M hangs up the scroll and looks to Jaune sitting in comfortably in a chair facing her desk. "The Prime Minister's talked to Atlas. They say it was an accident during a routine training exercise."**

"**The governments change. The lies stay the same." Jaune said crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap. **

"So very true." Ozpin said to himself having told a few of them himself over the course of his many lives.

"Such is the way of politics." Oobleck said, being the history teacher he does know about the changing times and their lies.

"**What else do we know about the Janus Syndicate?" M asked while walking to the window overlooking the city of Arcadia.**

"**Topflight arms dealers headquartered in Atlas. The first outfit to equip the White Fang during the coup of Vacou." Jaune told M what he knew about the organization. "The head man's unreliably described, no photographs. The woman… Onatopp… is our only confirmed contact."**

"**Would you care for a drink?" M asks stepping away from the window and back to her desk.**

"**Thank you. Your predecessor kept cognac in the top—"**

"**I prefer bourbon." M said opening a cabinet and retrieving two glasses and a bottle of bourbon. "Ice?"**

"My kind of lady." Qrow said bringing out his flask and toasting the screen before taking a sip. Summer quickly took the flask out of Qrow's hand before he could react.

"No more drinking until after the viewing." Summer told her teammate sternly and when Qrow grumbled something. "What was that?" She asked smiling that promised pain.

"Nothing." Qrow quickly said remembering all the times he was fooled by that damn smile only to get pummeled.

"**Yes." Jaune replied and waited for M to finish pouring the drink. After adding ice to the drink she handed Jaune a glass and sat down behind her desk with her own drink. "We've pulled the files on anyone who had access or authority at Severnaya." M took a sip before typing something on the keyboard and a screen appeared behind her. "At the top of the list is an old friend of yours, I understand." The picture of General Jacque Schnee appeared.**

"**Schnee. They made him a General." Jaune said recalling the last time he saw the man while taking a sip of bourbon.**

"**He sees himself as the next Iron Man of Atlas." M said looking away from the screen to Jaune. "Which is why our political analysts rule him out. He doesn't fit the profile of a traitor."**

"**Are these the same analysts who said that GoldenEye couldn't exist?" Jaune shot back while M listened. "Who said the helicopter posed no threat and wasn't worth following?"**

"Someone is pissed." Yang said.

"M, strikes me as the type to follow data rather than instincts." James said knowing such people. "It's hard choosing who to side with, data or instincts. Both have their ups and down." Team RWBY looked to Blake who had a habit of using her instincts when it came to fighting and tracking the White Fang.

"What?" Blake asked seeing their looks.

"**You don't like me, Arc. You don't like my methods." M stated taking another drink and leaning back in her chair. "You think I'm an accountant. A bean counter, more interested in numbers than your instincts."**

"**The thought had occurred to me." Jaune answered honestly.**

"**Good. Because I think you are a sexist, misogynist dinosaur." M replied back. "A relic of the Uprising. Whose boyish charms though wasted on me, appeal to that young woman I sent to evaluate you."**

"**Point taken." Jaune replies taking another sip of his drink.**

"**Not quite, 007." M said getting his attention. "If you think I don't have the balls to send a man out to die, your instincts are dead wrong. I have no compunction about sending you to your death. But I won't do it on a whim." She told him honestly taking another sip of her drink. "Even with your cavalier attitude towards life."**

"At least she's honest." Willow said respecting M. "She's not afraid to make the hard choice."

"A choice everyone in command has to make." Winter said lowering her head remembering all the hard choices she had to make during her career in the military. Feeling a hand on her shoulder Winter saw James offering her a kind knowing smile.

"**I want you to find GoldenEye." M told Jaune leaning forward in her chair. "Find who took it, what they plan to do with it, and stop it." Jaune nodded at his orders and prepared to leave. "And if you come across Schnee, guilty or not. I don't want you running off on some kind of vendetta. Avenging Taiyang Xio Long will not bring him back.**

"**You didn't get him killed." Jaune replied.**

"**Neither did you." M told him. "Don't make it personal."**

"**Never." Jaune said finishing the rest of his drink and setting the glass on the desk before rising out of the chair and leaving.**

"**Arc?" M said right as Jaune was near the door, turning around Jaune faced M. "Come back alive." Jaune didn't answer as he left the office.**

"A rare quality to see a commander care about their troops. Even though they are possibly sending them to their death." James said liking M even more. He wondered if M existed back in their world, if she is half the woman he is seeing then she would do great in the military.

Leon frowned at what James said, thinking back to his own team LION (Leon, Irene, Olivia and Nick). Ironically their name also spelled lion, so their team name became lion. He thought back to when he lost his team, the pain he felt that day stuck with him and he tried to forget by being a father. When some of his girls expressed interest in the path of a hunter he made sure to tell them the truth but then Jaune came.

Leon remembered his father telling him stories of huntsmen and their glory and he told them to his son. Unaware of the path he's opening to his son and now his son is disappointed in him which is worse than being angry at. _'I could use your help, dad.'_

**Atlas**

**In the capital city of Atlas a military parade is happening for the citizens and the tourists. In a building overlooking the parade a man is watching from the window before checking his watch and taking his set at the head of table with other people. Taking his seat a knock is heard at the doors and General Schnee enters carrying a leather case.**

**Removing his hat and tucking it under his arm General Schnee straightens his hair as he approaches the table.**

"**Good morning, General Schnee." The man at the head of the table greets General Schnee.**

"**Defense Minister Ironwood. Gentlemen." General Schnee says while placing his hat on the table along with the case.**

"Instead of a General, it would appear that you're the Defense Minister, James." Ozpin said to his friend not all surprised to see him in a high position of power.

"Impressive, General." Winter told her superior.

"**Please deliver your report."**

"**As this council is aware, 72 hours ago, a secret weapons system code named GoldenEye, was detonated over Severnaya." General Schnee begins his report. "As head of Space Division, I personally undertook the investigation. I have concluded this crime was committed by Atlas separatists seeking to create political unrest."**

**Everyone on the council look to each then to Ironwood who doesn't say anything as he listens.**

"**Regrettably, the peaceful work and much needed hard currency earnings of Severnaya have been set back by several years." General Schnee finished his report and pushed the leather case forward. "Therefore, I tender my resignation."**

**Everyone on the council shook their heads. "It seems the council does not want your head." Ironwood said placing his hand on the table. "Merely your assurance that there are no other GoldenEye satellites."**

"**I can give you that assurance, Defense Minister."**

"What a load of bullshit." Qrow said slouching in his seat still upset over the loss of his flask.

"Shouldn't James have an overview of the GoldenEye program?" Willow asked finding something odd about the program. "If Atlas approved of the program then there should be a record of the number of satellites made."

"Unless Jacque altered the records before Ironwood got it." Sienna spoke up crossing her arms. "Jacque just said that he's the head of Space Division, giving him access to all their files about the program. It wouldn't be hard to alter the records to make it appear as only one satellite was made."

"**Then what of the two missing Severnaya technicians?"**

**General Schnee took a quick breath in and tried to school his features. "I was aware only of the one: Boris Grishenko."**

**Ironwood looked at the folder in front of him to read the name of other missing technician. "There was a girl also, whose body was not among the dead. Nora Valkyrie. A level two programmer."**

**General Schnee recalled what Cinder said about the break room being clear. "I will investigate immediately, Defense Minister."**

"**It would seem presumptuous General to blame this incident on Atlas separatists… before the whereabouts of your own people are determined." Ironwood told the General not fully believing the report as did the council based on their expressions. "Do you agree?"**

"**Yes, Defense Minister." Gerneal Schnee answered. "Thank you for bringing it to my attention."**

"**That will be all." Ironwood said dismissing the General who grabbed his things and left the council room.**

"He clearly doesn't buy the excuse from Schnee." Glynda said adjusting her glasses.

"He knows something is up." Willow said getting another refill on her water. "Jacque was never good at schooling his features."

"I hope he gets caught." Ruby said crossing her arms in frustration at the mere notion of someone getting away with a crime.

"Jaune is looking for GoldenEye. So, he's bound to cross paths with him." Emilia said holding her husband's hand.

**Jaune entered the R&D division of MI6 where all the gadgets and tools the agents use in their missions are developed and tested. Passing a group of scientists mounting a mini gun to the front of an ATV, Jaune finds the heads researcher in a mechanical wheelchair with his left leg in a cast.**

"**Morning, Q. Sorry about the leg. Skiing?" Jaune asks curious about the cast when a miniature missile shot of the cast and impacted against a wall further down the room, luckily no one was in the area so the debris didn't hit anyone.**

"**Hunting." Q says before lifting the top half of the cast off and getting out of the chair. Q is a researcher in his old age and working for MI6 for a long time and has designed most of the gadgets that Jaune has used in his various missions. "Right, now pay attention, 007."**

"That is so cool!" Ruby and Coco said at the same time.

"I wish I had that when I broke my leg." Nora said making Ren thankful that she didn't.

"The engineering is impressive." Penny said impressed at how small a rocket could be hidden in a cast. "I would have never thought of such a thing."

"That's a spy for you." Coco said leaning back in her seat.

"**First your new car." Q approached a blue car that researchers are working on. "BMW. Agile. Five forward gears, all points radar." Jaune looks at the car appreciatively. "Self-destruct system and naturally all the usual refinements."**

**Jaune opens the passenger door and takes an object from the seat only for one of the researchers to take it back. "Now, this I'm particularly proud of." Q says looking at the headlights and getting Jaune's attention. "Behind the headlights, stinger missiles." He says with glee at his latest achievement.**

"A car that can shoot missiles? Where can I find this guy?" Yang asked already imagining her bike shooting missiles or maybe flames or shotguns. The possibilities are endless.

"How would it work?" Velvet asked mentally taking apart the car and trying to figure out how missiles could be placed in the car and still function. "The engineering just doesn't make sense."

"Ruby wields a sniper rifle that can turn into a scythe. Yang uses shotgun gauntlets; Blake has a machete that can function as a handgun and a grappling hook." Spart said getting their attention. "Pyrrha uses a sword that can turn into rifle and Nora wields a hammer that turns into a grenade launcher. How is a car shooting missiles any different?"

Velvet thought about it and could see what Spart meant. After all they are watching a different version of Jaune in the multiverse, so a car shooting missiles isn't the most crazy thing they've seen so far. Plus she has a camera that can make copies of other people's weapons.

**Jaune looks at the headlights wondering how he achieved that but knew not to ask. "Excellent. Just the thing for unwinding after a rough day at the office."**

"**Need I remind you, 007, that you have a license to kill." Q said approaching Jaune stood next to him. "Not to break the traffic laws." He warned Jaune.**

"**I wouldn't think of it." Jaune said a little too quickly.**

"Something tells me Jaune isn't one to believe in traffic laws." Ren said noticing the way Jaune answered way too quickly.

"Reminds me of someone else I know." Tai said looking to Yang who looked away. How many parking and speeding tickets did he pay when she first got her bike? He lost track, thankfully she now obeys the traffic laws.

"**Good." Q said not believing Jaune. "Now, let's get on to more practical matters." Q lead the way to a table containing more everyday items. "A typical leather belt." Taking the belt off the table Q began his explanation on the device. "Male, size 34. buckle, notch." **

**Meanwhile Jaune is typing away at a computer while Q explains the how the belt works. "Have you finished?" Jaune quickly closes the computer.**

"**Yes." **

"**Good. A typical leather belt—"**

"**I'm familiar with that device." Jaune pointed out.**

"**Not one with a 75 foot rappelling cord built into the buckle." Q said holding the buckle and showing it to Jaune so he could see the trigger. "Fire, and out shoots a piton. Followed by a high tensile wire designed to support your weight."**

"So many gadgets." Coco said in delight seeing all the spy tools and their functions. A rappelling cord built into a belt buckle, who thinks of that?

"That's so cool." Velvet said finding the engineering of everything impressive. She wouldn't mind working for Q if she lived in that universe. Velvet dabbles in engineering when she isn't taking pictures, she loves the process of creating something from scratch.

"**I see. And what if I need additional support? Jaune asks curious.**

"**It's tested for one, 007." Q said while a researcher went into a public booth meant for making call was trapped when console released an inflatable balloon pressing the researcher against the glass. Jaune looked at the researcher trapped in the booth for a minute before resuming their talk. Q grabbed an envelope off a silver tray. "Flight 878 to Atlas." **

**Jaune took the envelop surprised that Q knew what it held. "X-ray documents scanner." Q clarified pointing to the screen then to a nearby screen where it showed the contents of the envelop. Moving on Q grabbed a pen from his jacket pocket and showed it to Jaune. "A pen. This is a class four grenade. Three clicks arms the four second fuse." **

**Q clicked the pen three times and again. "Another three disarms it."**

**Jaune took the pen and clicked it three times. "How long did you say the fuse was?"**

**Q took the pen back and clicked it three times disarming it. "Oh, grow up, 007."**

"**They always say that the pen is mightier than the sword."**

"**Thanks to me, they were right." Q said before walking to one of the dummies. "Let's ask Freddie here to demonstrate for us." Q removed the pen and put in the jacket pocket of the dummy. "Here we are. Sorry about this, Fred." Q clicked the pen three times and ran away behind the safety glass covering his ears while Jaune watched. **

**After four seconds the pen exploded removing the upper half of Freddie. Q uncovered his ears and looked at Jaune. "Don't say it!" He said pointing a finger at Jaune.**

Weiss quickly rushed out of her seat and covered Yang's mouth. "Don't you dare."

Yang mumbled something against Weiss' hand.

"The writings on the wall." Tai said with a smirk and earning a light punch curtesy of Summer.

**Jaune licked his lips. "The writing's on the wall?"**

"**Along with the rest of him." Q added with a chuckle before placing a hand on the table and getting serious. "Now, 007, do please try and return some—" Q was interrupted when a researcher sitting a chair presses a button he wasn't supposed to and was blown out of his chair by compressed CO2. Q and Jaune looked at the researcher before continuing.**

**Jaune saw a sandwich and picked it up making sure to examine it.**

"What do you think it does?" Ruby asked the others.

"Maybe a hidden barrel comes out and shoots a bullet! Or a tranquilizer dart!" Nora said.

"Nah, I bet it's an explosive charge disguised as a sandwich." Coco added sure of her comment.

"It could also be a sandwich." Weiss said.

"**Do please try and return some of this equipment in pristine order." Q told Jaune who continued to observe the sandwich which Q noticed. "Don't touch that!" He said grabbing the sandwich out of Jaune's hand.**

"**It's my lunch."**

"Looks like you were right, Weiss." Ruby said disappointed that it wasn't something cooler.

"That sandwich does look good." Nora said eyeing the sandwich and drooling slightly. A droid appeared with the sandwich in question, Nora gleefully took the sandwich and thanked the droid before it left.

**Landing in Atlas Jaune exits the airport carrying his bags and looking for his contact. Spotting an older man wearing a fluffy hat, brown coat and reading a newspaper like his contact would be to signal him. Jaune approached the man and stood next to him.**

"I make another appearance." Peter said upon seeing himself.

"I wonder who else will." Saphron said balancing her son on her leg while her wife stretches in her seat.

"**In Arcadia, April's a spring month." Jaune says the code phrase while setting down his large briefcase.**

"**Oh yeah? And what are you, the weatherman?" The man asks lowering his newspaper and looks to Jaune. "For crying out, another stiff assed Arcadian with your secret codes and your password. One of these days you guys are gonna learn to just drop it." He tells Jaune and points with his newspaper to the parking lot. "Come on, my car's over there."**

**Jaune smirks before grabbing his luggage and follows his contact to his car which turned out to be a small two person car colored light blue. The contact takes the larger case from Jaune puts on the roof of the case and secures it with some rope while Jaune tosses the smaller car in the back seat of the car and holds the door open for his contact.**

"**After you." He tells his contact.**

"**Thank you." The contact says getting ready to enter the car but is stopped when Jaune closes the door on him trapping in the door, Jaune pulls his gun and presses the barrel against his chest. To everyone else it looked like two friends having a conversation.**

"Nice move. I might borrow that." Yang said impressed at the thought of using a car door to pin Port against his own car.

"First you need to own a car." Weiss pointed out.

"**Like you said, drop it." Jaune tells his contact who sighs.**

"**Alright, in Arcadia, April's a spring month whereas in Atlas we're freezing our butts off. Is that close enough for government work?" The contact asks and tries to get free but Jaune pushes him back.**

"**No. Show me the rose."**

"**Please, no." The contact said slightly nervous at the mention of the rose. Jaune presses the gun further into his chest. "All right, all right, all right." The contact looks around before unbuckling his belt and pants. Jaune doesn't say anything but is surprised as the contact turns around and pulls down his briefs to show a tattoo of a rose with the words "MUFFY" above on his left ass cheek. Jaune looks at the tattoo then back to his contact.**

"**Muffy?" Jaune asks while his contact re buckles his pants.**

"**Third wife. Peter Port, VSS." Peter introduces himself offering his hand.**

"Oh, Muffy how I miss you." Peter said longing for the one that got away. The rest of the students tried to forget that they just saw their teacher's ass.

"VSS?" Emilia asked interested in what Vale has to offer.

"Vale Secret Service." Spart told them. "Similar to MI6 but different."

"**Jaune Arc, stiff assed Arcadian." The two shake hands.**

"**That was a nice move." **

"**Nice car."**

"**This baby hasn't let me down yet, she's old and ugly, but she'll get you there." Peter sad tucking his shirt back into his pants. "Hey, Arc? You do any gardening?"**

"What does that have to with anything?" Coco asked.

"In this universe people view Arcadians as artsy and soft." Spart informed them.

"I wonder why." Raven said taking a sip of her wine having visited their kingdom before and wasn't impressed by what she saw.

**At the train station Nora exited the train at Atlas station, looking around the station she saw soldiers talking with each other. Nora quickly turned away not trusting them since she saw General Schnee and his escort kill her friends and coworkers. Leaving the station Nora headed for the closest computer store.**

"Smart, she knows that Jacque is part of the Atlas military and knows to avoid any soldiers." Jaune said taking a sip of his soda before continuing. "Plus, now that he knows she survived he probably ordered any soldiers in the city to be on the lookout for her."

"She's laying low." Blake said having done the same thing in the past when she left the White Fang and Adam. She spent several weeks hiding in the slums and avoiding White Fang hot spots as she made her way to Vale.

**Jaune and Peter are parked on the side of the road, the car engine smoking. "Hand me that wrench, Jimmy?" Peter says looking at the engine and holding his hand out.**

"**So, what do you know about Janus?" Jaune asked handing the wrench to Peter who started working on the engine.**

"**Zilch. Zipsky. No one's ever seen him. But he's connected up the gazoo." Peter said while tightening a bolt that came loose during the drive. "Atlas Intelligence. Military. Screwdriver."**

**Jaune grabbed the screwdriver and handed it Peter. "Rumor has it, he lives on one of those Atlas missile trains. That armored stuff they used to run around the Kingdom so we couldn't target them." Peter told Jaune tightening a screw and stepped away from the engine to admire his work while wiping away the grease off his hands. **

"That would make an effective means of traveling." Winter said knowing the type of trains Peter is talking about. Since most people living outside the walls can't afford a bullhead ticket, travel by armored trains are the ideal way for traveling to and from the cities. "The armored plating would protect Janus from explosives and small arms fire, and he would always be on the move."

"If Jaune can figure out the route then he could set a trap for Janus." Ilia pointed out. "There are only so many tracks a train can take."

"The problem with that is knowing what track and time the train will be taking." Blake said recalling her last raid with the White Fang.

"Sounds like you have some experience Miss Belladonna." Glynda said eyeing the cat faunus making her shrink in her seat

"**Want to hand me that hammer, Jimbo?" Jaune grabbed the hammer in question. "No, the bigger one. The sledge." Setting the hammer back in the tool box and grabbing the sledge, Jaune handed it to Peter. "Anyways, to tell the truth, you don't find this guy, he finds you." Peter gently tapped the engine. "Hell, it's all Atlas Mafia. The best thing I can do is point you in the direction of his competition." Peter said before holding the sledge with two hands and hitting the engine with force, the engine came to life making Jaune smirk at how people from Vale love to hit things.**

"That's not true!" Yang yelled at the screen. "We do not always hit things."

"So, you're saying that you do occasionally hit things." Weiss said looking at the blonde expecting and answer.

"Yeah, the Grimm and heiresses." Yang replied with a smile before sitting back down.

"**And who is the competition?"**

"**Oh, an ex-Specialist guy. Tough mother. Got a limp on his right leg. Name's Zukovsky."**

"**Valentin Dimitreveych Zukovsky?" Jaune asked recognizing the last name.**

"**Yeah. You know him?" Peter asked curious that he knows the full name.**

"**I gave him the limp." Jaune replied getting back into the car.**

"Valentin left the Specialists?" James asked surprised to hear the instructor leaving to pursue a life of crime from the sounds of it.

"It would appear so." Winter said also surprised to see the man who trained her leave the Specialists behind and go into organized crime. Such a waste of talent.

"Is this going to be like Raven in the space western universe?" Ren asked concerned for his friend's safety.

"Except he shot first and didn't get shot in return." Yang said ignoring the look Raven gave her and continued to watch the screen.

**Nora entered a computer store and found the owner in the storage room, knocking on the door Nora gestured to the various computers on display when the owner came to help her. "Are these all you have?"**

"**How many do you want?" The owner asked.**

**Removing a paper from her jacket, Nora began listing off the various schools and their specifications to the owner who grew happy at the large order.**

"**You pay lien?" The owner asked before agreeing to anything.**

"**Of course."**

"**If madam requires a demonstration, I can—"**

"**Madam requires one demonstration model and a quiet place to test it." Nora told the owner who pointed to the back room.**

"It's strange seeing Nora not hyper." Pyrrha said eating some popcorn that she ordered earlier.

"I take offense to that. I can be serious when I want to be." Nora told her friend before adopting a thinking pose. Pyrrha giggled behind her hand at the sight of Nora in her thinking pose.

**In a room Boris is alive when a beeping sound gets his attention, looking to the sound of the beeping Boris sees that he has an email saying that he needs to call Nora.**

* * *

**Back at the computer Nora is using the computer terminal to contact Boris through his private email.**

"_**Thought you were dead."**_

**Nora smiled happy that at least one of her friends is alive.**

"_**Schnee killed everyone, fired 'Winter' – took GoldenEye." **_**She typed back when the door to the back room opened startling her.**

"**Is everything satisfactory?" The owner asked.**

"**Everything except the interruption." She told the owner who smiled shamefully and closed the door giving her privacy.**

"_**You aren't safe. Trust no one. Meet me at the Brothers Church in one hour."**_

"That seems fishy to me." Blake said not trusting Boris.

"How did he get away?" One of the Arc sisters asked.

"I suspect we'll find out soon." Saphron said taking Adrian from Terra.

**Jaune and Peter are driving to the outskirts of Atlas, to the seeder part of Atlas.**

"**Now let me get this straight, Jimmy." Peter said keeping an eye on the road. "You shot him in the leg, you stole his car and took his girl." He said looking to Jaune who nodded in confirmation. "Now you want Valentine Zukovsky to set you up with Janus?"**

"**Yes."**

"**What are you gonna do? Appeal to his heart?" Peter asked driving the car into the warehouse district.**

"**No. His wallet." Jaune answered.**

"**Well, that might work. Okay, showtime." Peter said stopping the car. "Valentin operates out of building number 23, there." Peter told Jaune pointing to a building with guards out front. "Are you sure you want to do this? Last guy who dropped in uninvited went home airfreight… in very small boxes."**

**Jaune tilted his head. "Make sure they send me home first class." He told Peter before exiting the car. **

"M was right. This Jaune has a very cavalier attitude." Glynda said knowing some hunters like that. She didn't understand it but to each their own.

"Some Specialists are like that." Winter said thinking of her fellow Specialists." Some like to keep loose, helps them keep their head clear and others not so much."

"Same could be said of hunters as well." Ghira said crossing his arms.

**Meanwhile Nora made it to the Church, entering the Church she found it to be empty except for a person wearing a cloak. Thinking it might be Boris, Nora approaches the cloaked person when the window shutters suddenly closed on their own scaring her. Deciding that she isn't going to stick around any longer she leaves the Church in a hurry only to be grabbed. Screaming she struggles to get free.**

"**Nora! It's me, it's Boris!" Boris manages to calm Nora who stopped struggling when she heard his name. What she didn't see was Cinder coming behind her until she felt a presence behind her.**

"Knew it!" Ilia and Blake said at the same time. "Guess he sold out his friends."

"Why though?" Yang asked wondering what could make a man betray his friends and coworkers.

"Money, power or being threatened." Sienna said having used all three to get some to see things her way. Raven hummed in agreement having also used all three.

**Inside of the club Valentin runs he stresses at how his business is doing. "Another morning shot to hell." He said passing by a girl on her way to the stage while he heads back to his office. "Free market economy, I swear it will be the end of me." Entering a hallway, he hears the sound of gun's hammer being pulled from behind him. **

"**Walter K8… 7.65 millimeter. Only three men I know use such a gun." Valentin said recognizing the sound the weapon. "I believe I've killed two of them."**

"**Lucky me." Jaune said when one of guards aims a pistol at his head.**

"**I think not." Valentin said with a smile when his man made his move.**

"Once again, he has the table turned on him." Raven said getting a refill on her wine. "For a spy he keeps letting people get the drop on him."

"That could be how he does things." Qrow said looking at his sister. "People let down their guards when they think they have the winning hand. Makes it easier to fool them and come out on top."

"Don't you mean Onatopp?" Tai said with a smirk while his former team groaned at the pun.

**Back in the main area of the club the performers are rehearsing for their act later in the day. The lead singer sings in a deep voice and causes feedback in the mic which the person behind the soundboard had to deal with. Valentine and his two guards escort Jaune to a couch where he is roughly pushed down so he sits.**

**Valentine grabs a chair and sits in front of Jaune with his two men behind him. "Jaune Arc. Charming, sophisticated secret agent." He says with a chuckle. "Shaken, but not stirred." Valentine begins laughing along with his two men.**

"**I see you haven't lost your delicate sense of humor, Valentin… or your need for an audience." Jaune said gesturing to the two guards then to the stage. "Who's strangling the cat?"**

"**Strangling a cat?" Valentin said confused then looks to the stage where the lead singer is singing off key and causing more feedback. Drawing his gun Valentin shoot at cushion in front of Jaune making him flinch. "That is Raven, my mistress."**

"Raven never could carry a tune." Summer said with a chuckle feeling bad for the person behind the soundboard. "Remember karaoke night?"

"That was a fun night." Qrow said with a smile and Tai nodded.

"You chose a difficult song." Raven said to Summer. "If you had chosen a slower song then I would have been able to sing better."

"Ray, the people in next room complained about a Grimm mating call." Summer said recalling the memory. "The manager kicked us out for ruining their sound system."

"Then they should have invested in better sound gear." Raven grumbled when she remembered that she had to pay for the replacement gear thanks to Summer bugging her.

"Remember when Tai asked Raven out?" Qrow said with a smile before realizing what he said. "Aw, shit."

"It's ok." Tai said forgiving his friend for the comment. "It's in the past." Tai put his arm around Summer's shoulder and brought her in for a kiss.

"Didn't the both of you already get enough?" Yang asked her parents referring to this morning when she and Ruby wanted to surprise their parents. Instead they walked in on them having sex, the sisters quickly closed the door but could never unsee the sight.

"Sorry." Tai said with a sheepish smile. "We thought we locked the door."

**Jaune remembers the last girl that Valentin had and sees that his standards have dropped. "Very talented girl."**

"**Raven! Take a hike!" Valentin his mistress who stops singing and flips him off before leaving the stage. "So, Mr. Arc… what is it that brings you to my neighborhood?" he asks holstering his gun. "Still working for MI6 or have you decided to join the rest of us in the current century? I hear the new M is a lady."**

"**I want you to do me a favor." Jaune tells Valentin making him and his men laugh.**

"**He wants me to do him a favor!" Valentin said in between laughs before getting serious. "My knee aches every single day. Twice as bad when it is cold. Do you have any idea how long the winter lasts in this kingdom? Tell him, Dimitri!"**

"**Well, it depends—"**

"**Silence!" Valentin shouts shutting up the guard. **

"Isn't it always winter in Atlas?" Yang asked thinking of the snow-covered kingdom.

"Actually, there are moments in the seasons where the snow actually melts." Penny said before drinking some soda. "It only happens five times a year, the people use the warm weather to plant crops and have a festival."

"Festival?" Blake asked curious since it's the first she ever heard of it.

"The Festival of Warmth is a weeklong event that is held when the snow melts." Weiss informed them. "The SDC is one of the sponsors. I've only been to one when I was little."

"We need to go when we got to the new world." Yang said excited to snow just what the festival is about.

"Yeah, it sounds fun." Ruby said agreeing with her sister.

"Fine, the next time it happens. I'll invite all you." Weiss told the two making them happy.

"**For an ex Specialist, you surprise me, Valentin. I'm sure someone of your caliber must realize the skill was not to hit your knee but to miss the rest of you." Jaune said making Valentin smirk.**

"**So, why didn't you kill me?"**

"**Call it professional courtesy."**

"**Then I should extend you the same courtesy." Valentin said before drawing his pistol and shooting at Jaune's left and right leg which he moved out of way before aiming at his crotch.**

"No!" All the girls who like Jaune shouted at once and then blushed afterwards. Yang wanted to tease Ruby but decided against it, of course she would remember it for later.

"**Ozpin's funeral parlor. Four o'clock this afternoon." Jaune quickly said to avoid being shot catching Valentin's attention.**

"You own a funeral parlor?" James asked his friend who shrugged and went with it. Different universe and so different him.

"**Two hundred pounds of explosives hidden in a casket." Jaune began explaining now inside Valentin's office. "Your man drives the hearse in. The money's exchanged. Their man drives the hearse out." Valentin grabs a bottle of scotch from the alcohol cabinet before heading to his desk. "Their man will be arrested with the explosives. While your man will make a miraculous escape with the money. Your money." Jaune adds as the crime boss sits behind his desk.**

"**And what do I owe for this accommodation?" Valentin asks pouring himself a drink.**

"**I want you to set me up with Janus?" Jaune says leaning back in his chair.**

"**What has he done to deserve you?"**

"**Stole a helicopter."**

"**I have a six."**

"**Three. None that fly." Jaune said while Valentin took a sip of his drink.**

"**Who's counting?"**

"**These aren't just criminals, Valentin. They're traitors." Jaune said knowing that even though he doesn't serve Atlas anymore, Valentin loves his Kingdom. "They used the chopper to steal a nuclear weapon. Killed a lot of innocent Atlasian's doing it."**

"**What do you expect from a Grimm?" Valentin said taking another drink.**

"I thought you said the Grimm don't exist in this universe?" Ozpin asked Spart.

"The creatures don't, the name does." Spart told him before conjuring a hot cup of raspberry tea. "It's meaning is about to be explained."

"**Who?" Jaune asked curious.**

"**This Janus, I never met the man, but I know he's a Grimm."**

"**Group of Atlasians who worked with Mistral against Atlas during the war." Jaune said knowing little of the war and of the group besides the basics.**

"**You know your history, Mr. Arc. At the end of the war the Grimm surrendered to the Arcadians in Vacou. Believing they would join Arcadia and wage war against inequality." Valentin said taking another sip. "But the Arcadians betrayed them. Sent them back to Atlas who promptly had them all shot. Women, children, families."**

**Jaune looked away for a moment then back to Valentin. "Not exactly our finest hour."**

"**Still, ruthless people. They got what they deserved."**

"By the Gods." Leon said surprised that his kingdom and Atlas would do such a thing. James felt sick when he heard about what Atlas did to all those people, did they really deserve to be shot?

"What was this war?" Oobleck asked curious about the history of this universe.

"Mistral declared war against the kingdoms of Remnant. It was a long and bloody conflict that left many dead." Spart told them of the war. "There was also another side of the war, Mistral was mostly comprised of pro-humans.

"So, the faunus were persecuted?" Oobleck said taking notes.

"Yes, eventually the pro-humans managed to get someone into a seat of power and from there everything went crazy." Spart took a sip of tea before continuing. "Soon Mistral declared war and some people in Atlas joined them due to their hate of the faunus."

Ghira frowned at the history wondering if the faunus will ever be accepted and not persecuted for how they look.

"That's the long and short of it basically." Spart told them. Everyone took in the news differently.

"Let's continue watching." Jaune said wanting to move on from the subject. Everyone agreed and focused back on the screen.

"**I want you to set me up with Janus. Tell him I'm asking about the chopper." Jaune said bringing the conversation back to it's original purpose. "Tell him to meet me at the Grand Hotel."**

"**And then you and I are even… and he owes me one?" Valentin asked to clarify.**

"**Precisely." Jaune said before leaving.**

"Trust a criminal to turn everything to his advantage." Emilia said with a shake of her head.

"Two things bandits and corporations have in common." Willow said holding up two fingers. "Both don't care who they step on." She lowered one finger. "And both turn everything to their advantage."

**Inside the private pool of the Grand Hotel Jaune swims a lap before taking a break and decides to float in the center of the pool to relax. Closing his eyes Jaune takes a deep breath and hears the muffled sound of someone entering the private pool even though he told the staff to let no one in except for Janus.**

"Nice bod." Yang said appreciatively eyeing the semi naked form of Jaune. Even Weiss wasn't immune to the sight, she swallowed and blushed at the sight. Blake licked her lips at the sight of Jaune and watched as the water glistened off his muscles, the way the water flowed over his form.

All the girls who like the knight made sure to memorize everything they are seeing right now. Even Coco had to admit that an older Jaune looked good. He wasn't overly muscular instead having a swimmer's body.

Glynda would deny it if anyone asked her but she too found an older Jaune attractive. She knew she shouldn't have such thoughts about her student, but she is watching an older Jaune who isn't her student. So that makes it ok, right?

Willow admitted that the boy looked good but he wasn't her type. She preferred someone else who sadly loved another.

"I'll say." Kali said with a slight purr in her voice. Ghira and Blake looked her with shocked faces. "Oh, don't give me that look. He's attractive and _were _I not happily married; I would gladly take him for myself."

Blake's mind shut down when she heard her mother and Ghira looked like he wanted jump through the screen and kill 007 Jaune.

**Opening his eyes Jaune looked to the sauna area and saw no one, exiting the pool and grabbing a towel Jaune heads towards the sauna and grabs the person hiding behind the column and pushes them into the sauna.**

**Cinder falls onto the floor while Jaune draws his gun that he had hidden in the towel and aims at her. Cinder isn't wearing anything except for a towel that is barely held together at the waist with a robe belt. The robe falls off her shoulder giving Jaune a teasing view of her breasts. **

"**You don't need the gun, Commander." Cinder says seductively from her spot on the floor.**

"**That depends on your definition of safe sex." Jaune fires back.**

"Something she doesn't practice." Yang said remembering when she killed the Admiral.

"That reminds me. Ruby I need to talk to you after the showing." Summer told her daughter making her nervous.

"You know I already gave her the talk?" Tai whispered to his wife.

"Let me have this." Summer said wanting to be mother again to her daughters.

**Cinder looks appalled before quickly getting up and puts her arms around Jaune. **

"**That's close enough." Jaune tells her but she doesn't listen and presses herself against him.**

"**Not for what I have in mind." Cinder tells him before kissing him and makes him drop his weapon before biting his lower lip. Jaune pushes Cinder away from him and she hits the wall and moans in pleasure.**

**Jaune touches his lower lip and pulls his back to see blood. Reaching his gun Cinder quickly drops kicks him knocking him on his back where Cinder jumps on him, rolling over so he's on top Cinder just chuckles.**

"**You think you can hurt me?" She asks and touching his lips but Jaune gets off her and back on his feet and so does Cinder who jumps on his back knocking onto the resting table. Cinder once again jumps on him and wraps her legs around his midsection and starts squeezing. **

"That appears to be her favored method of killing." Raven said impressed at the woman's strength.

"She seems to enjoy pain as much as killing." Sienna said after seeing the way Cinder moaned in pleasure when she was shoved into the wall.

**Jaune groans in pain and tries to loosen her legs which doesn't work and Cinders moans as she continues squeezing. Jaune quickly gets to his feet and pushes Cinder against the wall which causes her to moan before she grabs his hair and forces him to look at her.**

"**You think you can break me?" Cinder asks before kissing him again, Jaune groans in more pain as she squeezes harder. Jaune slams her against another wall making Cinder scream out in pleasure and again as he slams against a different wall this time close to the lava rocks the Hotel uses to heat up the sauna.**

**Getting an idea just as Jaune hears someone else entering under Cinder's screams of pleasure. Setting Cinder on the grill covering the lava rocks causes to Cinder to scream not in pleasure but rather in pain getting her to loosen her legs. Jaune quickly grabs the water bucket and throws it at the person behind him hitting the person in the face and knocking them out. Jaune grabs Cinder and throws her over his shoulder onto the floor hard.**

Yang laughed. "Talk about being in the hot seat." Ruby chuckled at the pun and even Weiss cracked a smile. Some people could admit that some of her puns are ok when said at the right moment.

"Serves her right." Ren said happy to see some of the pain that Cinder inflicted dished out on her.

**Jaune grabs his gun off the floor and aims at Cinder who recovers. "No, no, no!" Cinder grinds her teeth in frustration upon seeing the gun. "No more foreplay. Take me to Janus." Jaune pulls back the hammer of the gun and Cinder shouts in the Atlas's native tongue.**

"Those who spoke the language cringed.

"What did she say?" Ruby asked her uncle when she saw him cringe.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Qrow said when he saw Tai's hard look directed at him.

"If that's foreplay. I hate to see the main event." Coco said ordering a small bowl of popcorn.

**Cinder and Jaune arrive at the meeting which happens to be a dumping ground for old statues. Cinder turns off the car and removes the key. **

"**This is it?" Jaune asks from the back seat keeping his gun on her.**

"**Yes."**

"**Well, I must say… I've had a lovely evening. You?" Jaune asks leaning forward and holstering his gun.**

"**Once again, the pleasure was all yours." Cinder tells Jaune with a condescending tone.**

"**You'll understand if I don't call."**

"**I won't lose sleep over it." Cinder says as Jaune smirks before knocking her out.**

"**Sweet dreams." Jaune said before exiting the car. Examining his surroundings Jaune spots the Tiger helicopter in the distance and draws his pistol before advancing into the dumping ground. The discarded statues making it hard to spot anyone and giving plenty of hiding places. Hearing a sound Jaune turns around and doesn't see anyone, walking toward the sound Jaune keeps his weapon raised.**

"**Hello, Jaune."**

"That voice…" Summer's eyes widen when she recognized it. "No, it can't—"

"Mom?" Ruby asked wondering what's wrong.

"Ruby…" Yang said getting her sisters attention and pointing at the screen.

**Jaune aims in the direction of the voice where he sees a figure coming out of a tunnel and wearing a long overcoat. Unfortunately, Jaune couldn't see the face as a light is behind the person obscuring their face but he could tell it was a man based on the voice. The man continues walking toward Jaune until he steps into the light and Jaune can see his face.**

"No, it isn't." Qrow said with a shudder.

Raven didn't say anything and watched in silence holding her wine glass tightly.

"**Tai?" Jaune said surprised to his friend alive though with a burn scar on the right side of his face, lowering his weapon Jaune could not believe it.**

"Dad?" Yang and Ruby said at the same time seeing their father alive after being killed earlier. "Does that mean?"

"He's Janus." Ozpin said with a flat voice.

"No, you're wrong!" Ruby cried out turning to Ozpin. "Dad would never be a criminal!"

"I'm sorry to say, Miss Rose. But it appears that Tai has indeed become a criminal."

"It's ok, Ruby." Tai said reaching across the seat and holding her hand. "That's not me. I'm right here. That man on screen isn't me."

Ruby nodded before letting go of his hand and sitting back down. Yang hugged her sister also feeling conflicted.

"**Back from the dead." Tai said with a small smirk. "No longer an anonymous star on the memorial wall at MI6. What's the matter, Jaune? No glib remark? No pithy comeback?"**

"**Why?" Jaune simply said making Tai laugh.**

"**Hilarious question, particularly from you. Did you ever ask why? Why we toppled all those dictators, undermined all those regimes?" Tai asked recalling past missions. "Only to come home, "Well done, good job, but sorry, everything you risked your life for has changed"."**

"**It was the job we were chosen for." Jaune replied.**

"**Of course, you'd say that." Tai mocked. "Jaune Arc, Arcadia's loyal dog. Defender of the so called "faith"." Jaune raised his weapon. "Oh, please. Jaune, put it away. It's insulting to think I haven't anticipated your every move."**

"Since he's a former spy and worked with Jaune in the past. Tai knows him and what moves he might make." Winter said while wondering if she could go up against her fellow Specialists if they were ever to go rogue. She served with them, laughed with them, and got to know them. She didn't know if she could.

"It's tough going up against a former friend." Oobleck said thinking of his old teammate Roman.

**Jaune lowered the weapon. "Yes… I trusted you, Tai."**

**Tai scoffed. "Trust? What a quaint idea."**

"**How did the MI6 screening miss that your parents were Grimm?" **

"**Once again, your faith is misplaced." Tai said. "They knew. We're both orphans, Jaune. But where your parents had the luxury of dying in a climbing accident. Mine survived the Arcadian betrayal and Atlas's execution squads." Tai said recalling his childhood when he saw the deaths of his friends. "My father couldn't let himself or my mother live with the shame of it. MI6 figured I was too young to remember."**

"**And in one of life's little ironies…the son went to work for the Kingdom whose betrayal…caused the father to kill himself and his wife."**

"So, he's been holding onto that grudge for how many years?" Summer asked feeling sad for the Tai on screen.

"A long time." Raven said knowingly.

"**Hence, Janus. Two faced Mistral god come to life." Jaune said figuring that must be the reason for the name.**

"**It wasn't god who gave me this face, it was you." Tai said referring to the mission nine years ago. "Setting the timers for three minutes, not six.**

"**Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?"**

"**No, you're supposed to die for me." Tai explained. "By the way, I did think of asking you to join my little scheme, but somehow, I knew…007's loyalty was always to the mission, never to his friend." Jaune remained silent. "Closing time, Jaune. Last call."**

**Jaune raised his weapon but is shot in the neck by a someone with a tranq dart knocking him out. Tai walked until he stood over Jaune and looked at him.**

"**For Arcadia, Jaune."**

No one in the audience said anything as they processed what just happened. Tai faked his death and became the head of a criminal organization that stole the Tiger helicopter and the remaining GoldenEye satellite. They also learned of his tragic past and the grudge he held for the Arcadian kingdom.

Ruby hugged herself wondering if she could fight her father or her teammates. She didn't have an answer.

"**Wake up! Mister Wake up!" Nora screamed at Jaune to wake up which he did slowly after she continued screaming and yelling for him to wake up.**

"**I'm here. I'm here!" Jaune yelled slightly disoriented from the tranq dart.**

"**Hurry!" Nora screamed again kicking the seat. "Hurry up! Come on!"**

**Jaune saw that both of them are in the Tiger helicopter, he also saw that his hands are tied. Hearing a beeping sound Jaune looked to the console and saw that autopilot had been engaged and the weapons are armed. The beeping was the countdown for the missiles to fire.**

"**Do something! Get us out of here!" Nora shouted.**

"**I'm a little tied up." Jaune said struggling to get free when the helicopter rotors begin spinning, deciding to try and break the flight harness he pushed himself forward but couldn't break the harness. Jaune looked at counter reach zero and the missiles fired, looking at the console to see where they are headed and saw the coordinates is the helicopter meaning the missiles are heading for them.**

"Smart. Kill Jaune and Nora as well as destroying the Tiger." Raven impressed at the thinking of Rogue Tai. "Atlas recovers the wreckage and discovers the body of an Arcadian spy. Arcadia will have two options. Disavow Jaune or admit that he was one of theirs. Either way the other kingdoms will be distrustful of Arcadia."

"Allowing Tai to carry out his plan unimpeded." Ozpin said seeing part of Tai's plan. "There is also a high probability that Tai called the authorities to investigate the area."

"So even if they do escape. They'll still be caught with the wreckage of the Tiger." Glynda added.

**Looking at the missiles turn around and start heading for them. Looking around the cockpit for any way out he saw am eject button next to his head. Leaning in his seat tried to use his head to hit the button but the harness restricted his movements, looking at the missiles he saw them getting closer.**

**Jaune tried again and was successful when his head made contact with the eject button. The main helicopter rotors on top of the aircraft ejected themselves and the cockpit disengaged from the rest of the helicopter via thrusters. The missiles destroyed the rest of the helicopter while Jaune and Nora escaped the blast and safely floated back to the ground thanks to the parachutes being deployed.**

"Now that's using your head." Tai said with a straight face making his team groan and Yang to smile. Ruby punched her sister in the arm, a habit she developed when Yang started making puns.

The rest of RWBY and JNPR now see where Yang got her love of making puns from.

Ozpin silently groaned remembering all the terrible puns Tai had made during his time at Beacon. He was quite happy when he graduated and surprised when he married Raven, he always thought he would end up with Summer since she always had a crush on him during their final year at Beacon.

**The cockpit landed safely and Jaune managed to free himself. "The things we do for frequent flier mileage." He said as he opened the cockpit and helped free Nora. Once outside Nora kicked Jaune in the shin and tried to run but Jaune caught up to her and grabbed her.**

"**Let me go!" She shouted struggling to get free but stopped when military jeeps drove up and soldiers took them into custody.**

**The soldiers loaded the two into the back of the jeeps and drove them to main base in Atlas and put the two of them in an interrogation room located under the base. Nora rubbed her wrists after the guard uncuffed them and left, walking to one end of the room to put distance between her and Jaune.**

"**Who are you?" Jaune asked looking at her stand in a corner of the room. "Listen, I'm on your side and here to help." He told her when she didn't answer.**

"**I don't know anything." Nora said as Jaune walked towards her.**

"**I don't believe you."**

"**I don't care what you think." **

**Jaune grabbed her arm getting Nora to look at him. "They might be back any minute. You either take your chances with me or the killers from Servernaya.'**

"Not a lot of choice there." Ren said ordering a refill on his herbal tea.

"No kidding." Pyrrha said agreeing with her teammate.

"**I've never been to Severnaya." Nora said trying to get away from Jaune who grabbed her wrist and looked at her watch.**

"**Your watch has." Jaune said after examining the watch. "Frozen by the GoldenEye blast. And I'm willing to bet you're the one who climbed up the dish to get out."**

"**Who are you." Nora asks warily.**

"**I work for the Arcadian government." Jaune told her easing some of her fear. "The more you tell, the more I can help you."**

"**But I don't know anything!" Nora shouted frustrated.**

"**Then let's start with what you do know." Jaune suggested back away allowing Nora to step away from him and sit on the table in the room.**

"**My name is Nora Valkyrie. I was a systems programmer at the Severnaya facility…"**

"**Go on."**

"**Until they killed everyone." Nora said after a moment.**

"**Who? Taiyang Xio Long?" Jaune asked.**

"He probably planned it." Sienna said. "It's also safe to assume he pretended to be the Mistral Admiral when they stole the Tiger."

"He would have the resources to do it." Weiss said making everyone surprised that she agreed with the leader of the White Fang.

"Plus, it's not hard to apply a fake beard and get a fat suit." Coco said getting their attention. "First year prank." Velvet remembered the prank well as did Glynda.

"**No, I don't know who that it."**

"**Who was the insider? The traitor?" Jaune asked trying to get more information about what happened.**

"**Boris. Boris Grishenko."**

"**Specialist or military?"**

"**Computer programmer."**

"**There was no one else?" Jaune asked wondering who else might be in on the theft.**

"**No." Nora said before looking to the door. "Are they going to kill me?" She asked Jaune who didn't answer right away.**

"**Trust me." He told her making her smile slightly.**

"**Trust you?" Nora asked looking at Jaune and his tailored suit. "I don't even know your name." when Jaune was about to answer the door opened and Defense Minister Ironwood entered along with a guard.**

"**Good morning, Mr. Arc." Ironwood said as the guard closed the door. "Sit." Jaune and Nora took their seats at the table along with Ironwood who sat opposite of them.**

**Ironwood set Jaune's weapon on the table while the guard kept a gun trained on him. "I'm Defense Minister James Ironwood. So, by what methods shall we execute you, Commander Arc?"**

"What, no foreplay?" Qrow asked ordering a sandwich.

"Atlas in this universe is a lot stricter than ours." James said wishing he could explore the Atlas on screen and see the difference from his.

"He's not really going to kill him, right?" Ruby asked with concern. Yang was about to reassure her but refrained not wanting to get her hopes up.

"**What? No small talk?" Jaune asked unbuttoning his jacket. "No chit-chat? That's the trouble with the world today. No one takes the time to do a sinister interrogation anymore." He tells Nora unconcerned for his wellbeing. "It's a lost art."**

"So true." Ozpin said surprising everyone save for those that know his secret.

"Anything we should know?" Leon asked the Headmaster.

"Just spouting nonsense." Ozpin said drinking his coffee.

"**Your sense of humor doesn't slay me, Commander. I'm sorry, where is the GoldenEye?" Ironwood asked Jaune.**

"**I assumed you have it." Jaune replies.**

"**I have an Arcadian spy, a Severnaya programmer and a helicopter that's-"**

"**Or that's what some traitor in your government wanted—"**

"**Who is behind your attack—"**

"**Who had the authorization codes?"**

**Ironwood swore as the two kept cutting each other off. "The penalty for terrorism is still death."**

"**And what is the penalty or treason?" Jaune asked with a raised voice.**

"**Oh, stop it, both of you! Stop it!" Nora shouted at the two. "You're like boys with toys." She said looking at the two of them. "It was Schnee. General Schnee set off the weapon. I saw him do it" Both Ironwood and Jaune looked at her.**

"Boys with toys…" Glynda said before looking to Ozpin and James recalling all the times the two have butted heads. She could see it now, the two fighting over a toy. In this case the toy is the survival of Remnant.

"I know that look." Sienna said looking at Glynda. "Same thing in the White Fang." Sienna meant it, she had to control and reign in some of the more troublesome units in the White Fang. Adam and his men are among them.

"The Specialists as well." James and Winter said at the same time.

Pyrrha and Nora shared a look remembering the time Jaune and Ren got into a shouting match over the shower schedule. It was the first they ever heard Ren swore.

"**Are you certain it was Schnee?" Ironwood asked.**

"**Yes, he killed everyone and stole the GoldenEye."**

"**Now why would he do that?" Ironwood asked curious.**

"**There's another satellite." Nora said and Ironwood swallowed nervously at the mention of another GoldenEye.**

"**Another GoldeEye." Ironwood said wondering just how many have been developed. "Thank you, Miss Valkyrie." Ironwood turned to Jaune. "You were saying something about the lost art of interrogation, Mr. Arc?" **

**Just then the door to the room opened and General Schnee entered with a disheveled uniform. "Defense Minister, I must protest." General Schnee passed the guard who saluted and holstered his weapon. "This is my investigation. You are out of order." General Schnee said coming to stop near Ironwood.**

"**From what I'm hearing. It is you who is out of order!" **

**General Schnee grabbed Jaune's gun before Ironwood could and held it in front of him. "I've seen this gun before."**

"Oh no." Willow said nervous as is everyone the moment Jacque picked up the gun.

"**Put it down."**

"**With our enemy."**

"**Put it down, General!" Ironwood ordered.**

"**Do you even know who the enemy is, James?" Schnee asked. "Do you!"**

"**Guard!" Ironwood stood out of his chair just to see Schnee shoot the guard before he could react and turn the weapon on him. Schnee shot Ironwood while Jaune tackled Nora to the floor. **

Winter clenched her teeth in frustration upon seeing her commander get killed. Qrow may not have liked the General but that didn't mean he wanted him dead.

Willow covered her mouth with her hands shocked to see James killed.

Ozpin tightened his grip on his mug trying to contain his rage at seeing his friend killed. Glynda got a hard look in her eyes and wished for 007 Jaune to kill Jacque.

**Schnee removed the magazine of the weapon and pulled back the slide ejecting the round still in the chamber. "Defense Minister James Ironwood murdered by Arcadian agent, Jaune Arc." He said while removing the bullets from the magazine. When all the bullets are removed Schnee inserted the empty magazine back into the weapon and tossed it to Jaune who grabbed it and holstered it. "Himself shot while trying to escape. Guards!"**

**Schnee reached for his weapon, Jaune kicked the chair into Schnee's legs knocking him over. Jaune punched the General in the stomach and kneed him in the face when he doubled over, grabbing his shoulders Jaune punched him again before pushing against the wall behind the door just as two guards came in. **

**Jaune then kicked the door shut, the metal door slammed against one of the guards knocking him out. The other guard turned around and Jaune grabbed his weapon forcing it down and punched the guard three times knocking him out. Grabbing the weapon Jaune went over to Nora and grabbed her hand.**

"**Come on!"**

**The two left the room and ran down the corridor to the stairs, Jaune making sure to keep his eyes open as they ran up the stairs. Two guards ran towards the stairs unaware of Jaune who shoots them. Running forward Jaune slides onto the floor just as two more guards enter and start shooting, killing the two guards. Hearing the door open behind him Jaune quickly turns around and shoots killing the guard. Getting back to his feet Jaune stands in front of Nora and kills another guard.**

Everyone is so caught in watching the action on screen that they don't notice Jaune holding Pyrrha's hand making her blush except for Nora who pouted.

**Seeing more guards below the stairs Nora taps his shoulder getting him to turn around and see the threat. Opening fire Jaune kills a guard running up the stairs and forces the others to take cover to avoid the bullets. Hearing the weapon click Jaune dropped the gun and grabbed Nora's hand and ran down one of the hallways making sure to grab a weapon off one of the dead guards on the way.**

**Seeing a door at the end of the hallway Jaune kicks it open to reveal the records room. Hearing more guards on the way Jaune and Nora run further into the room and push over book case, the book case hits the one behind it and dominos until the door is sealed by the fallen cases. On the other side General Schnee and the guards head to the lower levels to reach the other door.**

**Jaune opens the blinds on one of the windows and sees the courtyard with tanks and other vehicles along with more guards. Backing away from the window Jaune and Nora find a place to hide just as the guards and Schnee enter the room, keeping their weapons trained on the floor above and started to fan out. Above them Jaune counts the number of guards and Nora peeks out to look only to knock over a pile of binders.**

"I hate when that happens." Neptune said.

"You did learn a valuable lesson." Sun told his friend before taking a bite of his banana muffin.

"So, did you."

Weiss wondered what lesson the two learned and what did Neptune mean.

"Amateurs." Blake and Ilia said at the same time.

**Jaune quickly pushed Nora forward as they ran, and the shooting started. The guards below them shot through the grating as the two ran, seeing two guards trying to cut them off Jaune shot back through the grating killing the two. Finding a relatively safe spot to hide, Jaune set the weapon down and undid his belt and removed it, Nora looked at him concerned.**

"**Trust me." Jaune said before picking up the weapon and leaving their hiding spot with Nora following. The guards quickly found them and started shooting, the floor grating weakened under fire and broke when Nora stepped on it. Jaune turned around and saw what happened.**

**Nora fell through the floor and hit the ground hard, the guards picked her up and Schnee took her leaving the rest of his men to take care of Jaune. **

"Oh, come on!" Weiss yelled throwing her hands at the screen. "That's the most cliche thing to happen. A grating just magically breaks, and someone falls through it."

"The guards did shoot it and it's possible a bullet hit the nut and loosened it." Ruby said to her partner silencing her.

"Still a cliché."

**Jaune located the trigger for the belt and pressed it, the piton shot out of the belt and embedded itself on the ceiling. Using the belt Jaune swung across the room toward the window and kicked a guard on the way before letting go of the belt and crashing through the window. Luckily there was a shipment of soft goods that Jaune landed on instead of the concrete.**

**Jumping off the shipment Jaune took cover behind one of the armored vehicles and saw Schnee pushing Nora into a car and telling the driver to go. Jaune tried to go after them but two vehicles block the entrance and troops exit, looking around for something to use Jaune laid eyes on something that would do the trick.**

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked wondering what he found.

**Outside the base the car Schnee is using turned to avoid hitting another car and continued down the road when the wall behind them exploded when a tank drove through it and started pursing them. Jaune appeared out of the driving hatch. The car drove faster and turned onto another street and the tank kept up though it did spin out of control when it did a hard turn before Jaune managed to get under control and resumed chasing Schnee.**

"Yeah! Go fearless leader, rescue me!" Nora cheered for Jaune and excited to see him driving a tank in the city. It is like her dream come to life.

"That's not exactly the most discreet vehicle." Ren said surprised that Jaune would do such a thing. After all he expected this sort of thing from Nora and not Jaune, also wasn't he a spy.

"Isn't he a spy?" Velvet asked wondering why a spy would choose such a loud vehicle.

"Exactly." Ren said agreeing with Velvet.

"Not everything can be done discreetly." Blake said thinking back to when she wanted to find the White Fang and found Roman. Which then turned into a chase, then a battle with a stolen Atlas mech under the pass that ended in cars being destroyed and a section of the pass being destroyed.

"What are you looking at me for?" Yang asked seeing the look her partner is giving her.

"You know what you did."

"Sounds like Raven and Tai first date." Qrow said making Tai chuckle and Summer to laugh, Raven didn't say anything.

**The car slowed down when it came to an accident in the road blocking their path before reversing and going down an alley. The alley was narrow so the sides of the car scrapped the walls as it drove through it. Behind them Jaune sat down and closed the hatch before following, the tank bulldozed its way through the buildings. Behind the tank military vehicle pursued but couldn't see thanks to the cloud dust being produced by the tank's destructive path. Exiting the alley the car turned to avoid crashing into the canal and the tank followed, unfortunately the two vehicles behind the tank couldn't see and drove into the canal**

**Opening the hatch Jaune stood up to better see and saw the car drive on the sidewalks knocking people over and driving on the other side of the canal. Hitting the brakes and turning, the tank spun before driving back down the path it came from. Driving the tank Jaune saw new military approaching but quickly stopped before reversing, the passengers started shooting at the Jaune forcing him back into the hatch.**

**Driving back on the main road the vehicle crashed into each other as the tank approached and the drivers abandoned their vehicles as the tank got closer and drove through and over the vehicles. The car took the back roads and alleys to avoid Jaune who kept following them and drove through a statue destroying it. Hearing sirens behind him Jaune slammed on the breaks stopping the tank, the police cars slammed their brakes too late and crashed into the back of the tank.**

**Jaune looked back and fixed his tie before continuing his pursuit of Schnee.**

"Does he care about the amount of destruction he just caused!" James yelled in frustration at seeing the carefree attitude and the trail of destruction left behind by Jaune in his pursuit.

"I kinda want to see how Atlas tries to handle it." Qrow said with a shit eating grin. "I mean they can't admit that a spy jacked a tank and took it for a joyride. That would just make them look bad."

"Qrow." Ozpin said warning his friend.

"What? They have a hard time securing their tech."

"He's right." Sienna said getting James and Winter's attention. "It was easy finding the route for the Paladin. Stealing it was too easy."

"I hate to admit it. They are right, James." Glynda said siding with Qrow and Sienna. "Your lack of security on your weapons ended up with a rogue Paladin in the hands of Roman Torchwick."

"Every precaution is taken for any major weapons shipments." Winter said defending James.

"Then how did a rogue Paladin end up in the hands of the White Fang?" Leon asked. "Or the explosives used in the bombings of several SDC facilities?"

"Let's keep calm everyone." Ghira said rising out of his seat. "Atlas is not at fault for the stolen weapons nor are they responsible for the destruction they cause. It is the user who determines how the weapon shall be used."

Everyone in the room thought about what Ghira just said as he sat back down.

**At a hidden railway station, the car pulled up to an armored train getting ready to leave. Schnee exited the car pulling Nora out of the car roughly before shooting the driver. Cinder exited the train throwing away her cigar and meeting Schnee before escorting them onto the train. What the trio didn't see was Jaune still in the tank parked on a bridge overlooking the train, seeing the train Jaune formed a plan and drove off before the train could depart.**

**Inside the dining car of the train Schnee held Nora at gunpoint as they entered to see Tai wearing a black suit and tie finishing his meal. Cinder followed and passed the two placing a hand on Tai's shoulder before taking her seat behind him.**

Summer blushed when she saw Tai wearing a suit since he always preferred to dress causal. Her eyes narrowed when Cinder placed a hand on his shoulder. Raven could admit that Tai looked good wearing black.

"**Either you've brought me the perfect gift, General Schnee." Tai said wiping his lips with a napkin. "Or you've made me very unhappy."**

"**James got to them before I could." Schnee said taking out his flask and taking a sip from it.**

"**Arc is alive?"**

"**He escaped." Schnee said taking another sip.**

"**Good for Arc, bad for you." Tai told Schnee before focusing on Nora. "Take a seat, my dear." Nora scoffed but complied and took a seat. Tai wiped his hands and approached her.**

"**You know, Jaune and I shared everything." Tai said in a low voice as he stood behind her and leaned on the chair. "Absolutely everything." Tai began touching her hair and brushed a stray lock behind her ear. "To the victor go the spoils."**

Ruby and Yang felt uncomfortable seeing their dad act like that. They always knew him to be kind and funny but now they don't know if they can look at him the same without remembering what they are seeing. They know that it's not their actual dad but the on-screen Tai has his face and voice, even little things like the way he walks is similar to their father.

It's just so confusing for not only them but also for their mother and uncle who both wanted to jump through the screen and beat the living shit out of Tai. Even Tai himself wanted to help.

**Exiting a train tunnel, the tank emerged stopping outside the exit.**

* * *

"**You'll like where we're going." Tai said before kissing her neck making Nora flinch and tried to lean away from him.**

* * *

**The conductor of the train saw something in the distance and reached for his binoculars to better see.**

* * *

"**You may even learn to like me." Tai whispered before kissing her neck and Nora struggled, standing up Tai picked her up and forcibly kissed her. Nora pushed him away and slapped him.**

"I've never wanted to punch dad before now." Yang said with her eyes shifting to red and gripping the arm rest tightly. Ruby nodded in agreement as did the rest of their team. Pretty much everyone in the room wanted to punch on screen Tai.

"Disgusting." Glynda said appalled.

**Tai rubbed his cheek and smiled that disappeared when an alarm started ringing. "Stay with her." He told Schnee before heading to another car with Cinder. Entering the command car Tai brought up a screen and saw a tank on the track in front of the tunnel. "Arc. Only Arc."**

"**He's going to derail us." Cinder said impressed as Tai grabbed the radio.**

"**Full speed!" Tai ordered the conductor. "Full speed! Ram him!" Feeling the train pick up speed Tai and Cinder braced themselves.**

* * *

**Inside the tank Jaune loaded a tank shell and aimed at the nose of the train before firing. The shell impacted against the nose of the train, the conductor hit the brakes making train slow before impact. Exiting the tank with the rifle from the base Jaune watched from a safe distance as the train rammed the tank and stopped just before the tunnel.**

"Risky move." Coco said admiring the boldness of the plan. 007 Jaune would fit in quite well with her team.

"He did stop the train." Velvet pointed out.

"Maybe we should have derailed the train at Mt. Glenn." Yang said thinking back to the mission with Dr. Oobleck.

"If we had, then we would have been stuck in a tunnel with the Grimm and the White Fang." Weiss pointed out. "Our escape route would have been cut off. We were lucky that the breach was contained."

"Yeah, it could have been worse." Jaune said thinking back to the breach and how his team helped.

**Inside the dining car Nora gets up off the floor and sees everything is strewn across the room, she runs towards the door hoping to make her escape only to be grabbed by Schnee stopping her.**

* * *

**Inside the command car Cinder groans as she picks herself off the floor. Tai twitches before quickly rolling onto his stomach and crawling towards a rifle on the ground a few feet in front of him. Before he can reach it a foot steps on the rifle.**

"**Why can't you just be a good boy and die?" Tai asks already knowing that Jaune has a weapon on him.**

"**You first." Jaune said sparing a glance at Cinder. "You, second." Cinder scowled before licking her lips. "Up!" **

**Tai and Cinder got to their feet, dusting themselves off. "Situation analysis…hopeless. You have no back up, no escape route. And I have the only bargaining chip." Tai said confidently fixing his suit.**

"**Where is she?" Jaune asked keeping his weapon on them.**

**Tai chuckled, "ah yes. Your fatal weakness." He said grabbing the radio off the floor. "Schnee, bring her in." Pocketing the radio Tai smiled. "Lovely girl. Tastes like…cinnamon."**

"Ok, now I really want to punch him." Yang said through clenched teeth. She hated men who forced themselves onto women just because they are good looking and think that everyone woman wants them. Since she has a well-developed figure she had to deal with pushy men and the occasional woman.

"You hold him down and I'll hit him with my hammer." Nora suggested feeling gross after seeing her friend's dad kiss her.

"Deal." Yang replied with a nod.

Tai felt bad for his on-screen self for about ten seconds. All the men in the room felt the same as Tai.

"**I wouldn't know."**

"**I would." Tai said while Cinder licked her finger. Hearing footsteps behind him Jaune quickly glanced before focusing back on Tai. **

**Schnee entered the car holding Nora at gunpoint.**

"**So, back where we started, Jaune." Tai said. "Your friend or the mission? Drop the gun and let her live."**

**Jaune took a moment to think before answering. "Schnee, what has this Grimm promised you?" He asked. "You knew, didn't you? He's a Grimm."**

"**It's in the past." Tai said recognizing what Jaune is trying to do.**

"**He'll betray you!" Jaune yelled. "Just like everyone else."**

"**Is this true?" Schnee asked while keeping his weapon on Nora.**

"**What's true is that in 48 hours, you and I will have more money than the Brothers." Tai said looking to Schnee first then to Jaune. "And Mr. Arc here will have a small memorial service. With only Goodwitch and a few tearful restaurateurs in attendance." Tai said with smirk. "So…what's the choice, Jaune?" Walking back to Cinder who happened to be near the door. "Two targets. Time enough for one shot. The girl or the mission?"**

"**Kill her. She means nothing to me." Jaune said keeping his finger on the trigger.**

"Guess he chose the mission." Ren said angry at 007 Jaune for letting Nora die.

"Some hunters are like that." Port said with a heavy sigh. "They get tunnel vision on the mission and forget everything else."

Ruby shook her head at what Port said, a huntsmen's job is to protect people. She couldn't believe what she is hearing since she always looked up to hunters as the defenders of Remnant and the people. Yet, a small whisper in the back of her mind told her that Port was right. She had seen it firsthand with Roman Torchwick, after the breach Ruby did some research on him and discovered that he used to be a huntsman and he was on a team with Prof—Dr. Oobleck.

According to what she found, Roman was at Mt. Glenn when it fell and was ordered to pull back. After that he gave up being a huntsman and decided to be criminal. That got her thinking, if Roman gave up being a hunter then how many have done the same and turned to a life of crime. She didn't want to think about it so she focused back on the screen.

"**See you in hell, Jaune." Tai said before nodding to Schnee and heading for the door with Cinder. Quickly turning around, Jaune shot Schnee before he could shoot and turned back to try and shoot Tai but was too late as they already left and sealed the door. Trying to open the door Jaune couldn't and ran to the other end to try force it open but couldn't as the shutter closed sealing them in.**

"**One inch armor plating." Jaune told Nora trying to find another way out before Tai gets away.**

"He called his bluff. Not bad." Raven said impressed.

"Keep in mind students, that doesn't always work." Glynda told her students just in case they decided to try it for themselves.

"She's right." Saphron said holding a sleeping Adrian in her arms. "It's always a risk calling someone's bluff. There's always a chance they are actually bluffing and there's also a chance they're not."

"50/50 shot, huh." Yang said with a smile. "I'll take those odds."

Summer smiled being reminded of Raven when they first met.

"**I'm fine. Thank you very much." Nora said heading toward the still active computer. "Boris, yes!" She said excitedly.**

"**What are you doing?" Jaune asked.**

"**Boris is on line backing up his files." She said grabbing the knocked over chair and righting it before sitting. "If I can spike him. I might be able to find out where they're going." Jaune is impressed that he stopped what he's doing. "Well, don't stand there! Get us out of here!" She yelled when she saw him not doing anything.**

"**Yes, sir." Jaune said looking to the floor.**

* * *

**Meanwhile in the rear car the top section separated, and a small two-person helicopter emerged from the car slowly starting up.**

* * *

**Back inside the command car Jaune is pulling up the carpet to reveal to the steel plate while Nora typed away at the computer getting ready to initiate the tracing program. **

"_**Good luck with the floor, Jaune."**_

**Tai's voice came on over the intercom.**

"_**I set the timers for six minutes. The same six minutes you gave me. It was the least I could do for a friend." **_

"**What does he mean?" Nora asked noticing the way he tensed.**

"**We've got three minutes." Jaune told her removing his watch as the helicopter took off.**

"How are they going to escape?" One of the Arc sisters asked chewing on her thumb worried for her brother.

"They'll be fine. Our brother is a spy, he probably has something to help in getting out." Another of the Arc sisters said reassuring her sibling.

"What about that grenade pen?" Velvet asked remembering the gadget Q gave him. "He places it against the door or panel and set it off."

"It's an enclosed space, not a place to take cover." Coco said to her partner. "It would be dangerous to do it. The risk of injury from the resulting explosion is too great."

"Excellent point, Miss Adel." Ozpin said proud of his student. "There is also no guarantee that the explosion from the pen wouldn't set off the other charges."

"I'm sure Mr. Arc will surprise us." Oobleck said taking a sip from his coffee cup.

**Inside another facility Boris is spinning a pen between his fingers while backing up his files without a care in the world when his screen changed to show the words "Spike Sent" making him pause.**

**In the command car Jaune is cutting a section of the floor with a laser built into his watch. Meanwhile Nora is trying to guess the password to start the tracing program.**

"A laser built into a watch. Amazing." Coco said with a smile.

"A pen that explodes, a car that shoots missiles, and a watch that has a built-in laser. I can see why you like spies." Velvet told her partner.

"That's so cool! I need that Renny!" Nora yelled bringing a smile to him thankful that she didn't have such a tool at her disposal.

"**What else do you call your butt?" Nora asked looking to Jaune.**

"**What?"**

"**It's Boris' password, he plays word games. "What I sit on, but I don't take it with me"."**

"**Chair." Jaune said looking at her before focusing back on his work.**

"**Like I said." Nora entered the password and started the tracing program, a map of Remnant appeared on the screen with a red line that started in Atlas before moving.**

"**Thirty seconds."**

"**He's not in Atlas, Mistral, Vale."**

"**Twenty five seconds."**

"**Vacou."**

"**Twenty seconds." Jaune said deactivating the laser and started slamming his foot against the area he cut trying to kick it away. "Come on!" he said grabbing her arm when he kicked it free.**

"**Wait! He's in Vtyal. No." She said when the search program was terminated.**

"**Now!" Together they left the car via the hole and ran away from the car before the timers hit zero. Jumping to the ground before the explosion to avoid any flying debris that might hit them. **

**Sitting up they looked at the destroyed car. "Do you destroy every vehicle you get into?" Nora asked looking at Jaune who shrugged.**

"**Standard operating procedure." Jaune said taking a deep breath. "Boys with toys."**

"Why would that be the procedure?" Ruby asked confused.

"Gets rid of any evidence." Coco said having read and seen such things in spy thrillers.

"Oh."

"Boys and their toys." Summer said thinking of Tai and Qrow and all he fights they got into with each other. Of course, most of the fights were about their fighting styles and how they were better than the other.

"**Maybe I should take care of the transportation for our trip to Vytal." She said as Jaune put back on his watch before looking at her.**

"**Our trip?"**

"**Do you know how to disarm the weapon?" Nora asked to which Jaune didn't immediately respond and shrugged again.**

"**I suppose that depends on what kind of weapon you're talking about disarming." Jaune said looking at Nora making her bit her lower lip before slowly leaning toward him.**

"**So…tell me…are there any other "standard operating procedures"…I should be aware of, Commander?" **

**Jaune leaned closer. "Thousands." He said before kissing her, "but I only pay them." Nora wrapped her arms around his neck. "Lip service." The two continued kissing.**

Nora blushed when she saw the two of kiss, looking to Jaune she saw him glance at her and blush before looking back the screen. She remembered what Pyrrha said about wanting to meet after the showing and figured that it had something to do with Jaune and their feeling towards him.

Pyrrha looked at the screen of the two kissing and looked away out of respect for the two.

Neptune opened his notebook and took notes.

**Jaune and Nora are driving near the Anima coast. "My whole life I dreamed about coming to Mistral. It's so beautiful. Not another person in sight." She said making Jaune smile as he pressed a button on his dashboard and a small screen appeared showing a radar with a blinking dot closing in on them. Looking up she saw a small plane fly over them before landing on the same stretch of road they are driving on.**

"**What is it with you and moving vehicles?" Nora asked Jaune who didn't say anything.**

**The plane slowed to a stop as the Jaune and Nora pulled up to see Peter Port exiting wearing a brightly colored shirt and a stray hat. "Yo, Jimbo!" Peter said carrying a brown bag. "Brought a little gift from old—what's his name? T, Z—"**

"**Q." Jaune said taking the bag and looking at the contents.**

"**Yeah."**

"**What are you doing here, Port?"**

"**Banyan trees." Peter said looking at the trees in the distance. "Uh, I am not here. The VSS has no knowledge, no involvement. Absolutely nothing to with your insertion into Vytal if you catch my drift."**

"**Yes, I do. Perfectly." Jaune said removing his sunglasses and pocketing them in his jacket.**

"What does he mean?" Sun asked ordering a soda.

"Vale can't officially help but they can lend support." Emilia said having taken part in similar operations during her time in the Vale military. "My guess would be a small platoon of soldiers as backup and one or two small air crafts for support."

"Did you serve, Emilia?" James asked curious.

Emilia unbutton her outer shirt and removed her right sleeve to show a tattoo sleeve going down her arm. On the upper arm a symbol of a knight helmet above two sniper rifles, a crosshair surrounded the symbol. Jayne and the rest of the Arc family had already seen her tattoos.

"You were a knight?" Winter asked having heard of the Knights of Vale. They are rumored to be on par with the Specialists.

"I was a sniper with them." Emilia said covering up the tattoo and buttoned up her outer shirt.

"What was your weapon and it's melee form?" Ruby asked excited to meet another user of sniper rifles.

"I didn't have a melee form for my weapon." Emilia told Ruby making her deflate. "I used a kukri instead." Ruby perked up when she heard that, she wondered just how good of a sniper Jaune's mother is and if she would give her some tips for Crimson Rose.

"**Borrowed a plane from a friend of mine at Beacon." Peter said heading back to the plane to retrieve a map. "Military and air traffic are in the loop. You're cleared on our radar for 0600 hours. Here's the latest sat int from Vale. Stay below 600 feet." Peter told them handing the map and images over.**

"**500 feet." Nora said taking the maps and looking them over.**

"**Who is that?" Peter said removing his sunglasses and gesturing to Nora.**

"**Nora Valerie." Jaune said introducing the two.**

"**Nora **_**Valkyrie." **_**Nora said correcting him.**

"**Atlas Minister of Transportation." Jaune said making her smile, Peter removed his hat and gestured for him to talk privately.**

"**Did you check her out?" Peter whispered.**

"**Head to toe." Jaune said.**

"I imagine it was a very thorough evaluation." Yang said with a smirk. Ruby blushed at the meaning behind the words.

"Jealous?" Blake asked.

"I prefer men my own age."

"Anything I need to know?" Tai asked making Yang groan as she remembered her first boyfriend and how her father acted. She'd never knew that a guy could run that fast.

Pyrrha frowned wondering when Jaune will give her a thorough evaluation. Maybe she could wear something when the time comes.

"**Right." Peter said with a knowing smile. "So, you're looking for a dish the size of Amity Coliseum? Doesn't exist. We checked the whole island, nothing."**

"**I know it's there. It's duplicate of Severnaya. Like your secret transmitters in Vacuo."**

"**I've never been to Vacuo." Peter said nervously. "How does she know about that?"**

"**What if I need backup?" Jaune asked.**

"**Get on the radio. I'll send in the Knights." Peter said leaving the two with the plane while he heads for the car. "Turn left at the end of the runway. Vytal's 80 miles on your right."**

"**Yo, Port!" Jaune yelled before tossing the keys which Peter caught with his hat and entered the car. "Just one thing. Don't push any of the buttons in that car."**

"**Just gonna go bombing around in it." Peter said turning the car on.**

"**Exactly." Jaune said slightly worried about what Q might say if he found out that someone other than him is driving his car.**

"**Yo, Jaune, I got faith, but be careful. He knows your coming." Peter said before driving off leaving the two alone. **

"The element of surprise if pretty much gone." Leon said wondering who is going to be the victor. Tai or Jaune.

Ruby felt conflicted on who to cheer for, her father or her friend/crush. Yang is also in the same boat as her sister.

**Jaune sat on the beach near the safe house thinking before they had to leave the next day. Nora walked towards him wearing a white bikini, she stopped in front of him getting his attention before he looked at the waves crashing upon the rocks.**

"**He was your friend, Xio Long." Nora said kneeling next to Jaune who continued to watch the waves. "Now he is your enemy, and you will kill him. It is that simple." **

"**On paper…yes." Jaune replied now looking at her.**

"In reality it's more difficult." Oobleck said drinking his coffee. "You're fighting a person who trained with you, fought beside you, and knows how you fight."

Ozpin knew that he was referring to his old partner. How many gave up being a huntsman and turned to a life of crime. _'Too many_' thought Ozpin taking a sip of coffee.

Yang wasn't naïve as her sister, she knew that huntsmen went rogue from time to time and later when they graduated from Beacon they would eventually be assigned to track one down.

"**Unless he kills you first."**

"**Nora—"**

"**You think I'm impressed?" Nora asked slightly angry. "All of this, with your guns, your killing, your death, for what?" She asked with a raised voice. "So, you can be a hero?" Jaune didn't say anything. "All the heroes I know are dead."**

Leon looked at his feet thinking about his son, looking at him he saw himself in him. Young, hopeful, and a head full of dreams before the reality of the world slapped him in the face. _'I hope you can forgive me, Jaune.' _

Emilia held Leon's hand and gave him a warm smile.

Ozpin once again thought about the past heroes he had the privilege of teaching and leading. Looking to Jaune, he had to admit that he looked just like his great grandfather Marcus when he knew him. The man gave everything to stop the Grimm and in honor of him, Ozpin commissioned the statue of him and others outside Beacon.

"**Nora, listen to me."**

"**How can you act like this?" Nora asked not understanding him. "How can you be so cold?"**

**Jaune took a moment to answer. "It's what keeps me alive."**

"**No. it's what keeps you alone." Nora said getting up to leave but is stopped when Jaune grabbed her arm and kissed her, Nora broke the kiss and regarded him for a moment before kissing him.**

Glynda glanced at James knowing that the man is still single even though he is an attractive man. He wasn't always the man he is now, she knew him back when he smiled more and even made her laugh, back when he had that light in his eyes. Now the light dulled, and he rarely smiled, always focused on the task in front of him. She missed those days.

Willow looked at the man she loved wondering if she should tell him about her daughter and the possibility that he may be the father. She hoped that he would take the news well and not lash out even though she knew that he wouldn't but you never knew with people.

**Inside the safe house Jaune is asleep on the bed naked.**

"**Jaune?" Nora asked from her spot beside him **

"**Yes?" Jaune asked opening his eyes. Nora rolled on top of him.**

"**On the train…when you told him to kill me and that I meant nothing to you…did you mean it?" **

**Jaune smiled. "Yes." He said honestly making Nora frown. "Basic rule. Always call their bluff." He said cracking a smile making Nora angry making her hit him with a pillow. Jaune chuckled throwing the pillow off the bed before brushing her hair out of her face. "No…" He said before the two kissed and continued into the night.**

Yang was about to cover Ruby's eyes but stopped when she saw their mother shake her head at her. Shrinking into her seat Yang let a sigh of relief when the screen faded to black thankful that her sister didn't have to see that. Yang was unaware that Ruby was already exposed thanks to Blake not keeping track of her graphic novels and her scroll.

Nora bit her lower lip already imaging the scene between the two and looked to Jaune noticing the blush on his cheeks and the quick glance in her direction before looking back at the screen.

Velvet couldn't help but imagine herself in Nora's position on screen and blushed as her imagination took off.

**The next day the plane flew over the island of Vytal, Jaune and Nora looked out the window at the passing scenery. **

"**Turn 10 degrees south…bearing 164." Nora told Jaune looking at the map.**

"**Yes, sir." Jaune said making Nora laugh as he turned the plane onto the correct bearing. Nora looked out the window not seeing anything other than trees, passing over a lake Jaune looked out the window and saw nothing.**

"**Nothing. There is nothing here." Nora said after seeing nothing.**

"**Let's make another pass." Jaune suggested turning the plane around and flying back over the lake. "Maybe Port was right. There is no dish." Jaune said just as a missile flew out of the water and destroyed one of the wings of the plane. **

**The plane began losing altitude and caught on fire, Nora clung to Jaune as he attempted to find a place to crash land without killing them. Nearing the water Jaune let go the controls and held Nora as the plane scraped the water surface slowing them down, the splashing water doused the flames as the plane made it to shore. The plane lost the other wing when it crashed into the trees and stopped when it hit a tree. **

"Is the base under water?" James said to himself.

"Good way to keep a base hidden." Raven said just how deep Tai's pockets are if he is able to construct a base under a lake.

"Then where is the dish?" Neptune asked ordering a glass of water.

"Keep watching." Sun told his friend.

**Kicking open the door Jaune stumbled out disoriented and grabbed Nora's unconscious form and carrying her away from the wreckage. When a good distance away from the wreckage Jaune collapsed still disoriented and fainted.**

**Feeling a breeze on his face, Jaune opened his eyes and saw a helicopter above him before the noise hit his ears. Seeing a rope being tossed out and landing in front of him, Jaune got to his feet still slightly out of it and saw a person rope descending from the helicopter. Blocking out the sun to better see Jaune saw the person is a woman before she kicked in her way down knocking him over.**

**Cinder unhooked the clasp from her harness and kicked Jaune when he tried to get up before kicking him again knocking him on his back. Cinder stood on top of Jaune, grabbing his vest she lifted him up. "This time, Mr. Arc...the pleasure will be all mine." She said before licking his face and began squeezing her legs together.**

"She's really starting to get on my nerves." Weiss said crossing her arms.

"I hear ya." Neptune agreed winking at Weiss making her blush. Her sister eyed the young man that had caught her sisters' attention.

**Jaune screamed in pain as he felt the air leave him and his sides being crushed. Cinder screamed out in pleasure as she slowly killed him, gritting his teeth only made Cinder apply more pressure to his sides making it more painful.**

**Nora attempted to hit Cinder from the side with a fallen branch but Cinder blocked it and grabbed her bringing her close, so they are face to face. "Wait for your turn." She told the redhead before head butting her knocking her back.**

**Jaune took advantage of the distraction and hooked the clasp on the back of Cinder's harness and grabbing the rifle on her back and shot at the helicopter. One of the bullets ricocheted off the metal and hit the pilot killing him. With the pilot dead the helicopter slowly dropped out of the sky pulling the rope attached to Cinder.**

**Cinder realized this as she tried to undo the harness and screamed as the rope yanked her back slamming her into a tree, she struggled to breath as the helicopter pulled in the opposite direction and Cinder was pinned against the tree. She couldn't do anything but feel her spine slowly break along with her ribs killing her.**

"She may be a sadistic bitch but that's too much." Yang said cringing when she heard the snap of the girl's spine.

"Indeed, it would be a slow and painful experience." Penny added from her spot next to Ruby.

"Once again Mr. Arc has demonstrated his ability to think outside the box." Glynda said pushing up her glasses.

"That's one problem taken car off." Ozpin said drinking his coffee. "I suspect that Tai will prove the greater challenge."

**The helicopter crashed into the trees, the branches breaking the rotors sending them flying, Jaune and Nora fell to the ground to avoid being hit by one of the stray rotors that flew in the direction. After waiting for a few seconds Jaune and Nora looked the body of Cinder still pinned to the tree.**

"**She always did enjoy a good squeeze." Jaune told Nora.**

"Not bad." Yang said not wanting to admit that Jaune stole her line.

"Jealous that someone other than you is making better puns?" Blake asked her partner who shrugged her shoulders.

"I can admit that he makes _some_ decent jokes."

"She's jealous." Tai said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah." Summer said agreeing with him.

**Inside a facility Tai walked down the stairs to the main computer console where Boris is at. Entering the room Tai walked over to Boris. "Is the satellite in range?"**

**Boris checked his watch. "Six minutes."**

"**Prepare the dish."**

"**No. it's too early." Boris said looking to Tai. "I am not ready."**

"**You may be good with a computer, but I'm good with a gun." Tai told Boris. "Do it." **

**Tai saw a guard approaching the room and went to meet him while Boris made a face at Tai behind his back.**

"**Sir, we lost contact with Cinder and her helicopter." The guard reported.**

"**The man just won't take a hint." Tai said already guessing what happened to Cinder and the pilot. "Do we have a squad in area?"**

"**Squad three is five minutes out." The guard said.**

"That's quite the set up." Sienna said seeing all the technology inside the base. If the White Fang had a base at their disposal it would make things easier. James had the same train of thought though for different reasons.

Raven looked at the Tai on screen and licked her lips seeing the man she fell for. The aura of authority to him that surrounded him and the bite to back up his bark. She loved it when he showed that authority to her. Although now it appeared Summer was privy to that making the raven haired woman slightly jealous.

"Nine years of being the head of the major crime syndicate pays off it seems." An said passing a note to a helper droid who saluted before heading off to wherever. Seconds later the same droid came back holding a cup that contained a green liquid. Li smiled at his wife and her habit of making "healthy" drinks. He loved her but he could never stomach those drinks.

"What is that?" Ren asked seeing the drink in his mother's hands.

"It's a drink that I made from herbs native to our town" An said taking a sip and sighing in happiness at the familiar taste. "Would you like some?"

Ren nodded and soon he had a cup as well. "It's good. I need to show you some recipes of my own." Ren said after taking a sip.

Li chuckled at his son. "You truly take after your mother."

**Jaune and Nora scavenged what gear survived the crash when they heard alarms. Grabbing what gear they could they ran to an overlook of the lake and three towers slowly emerge out of the ground surrounding the lake. Large cables attached to the towers pulled a large triangular platform out of the lake as the waters receded.**

"**No wonder we couldn't see it." Jaune said as more of the waters receded to reveal the dish portion of the radar, the triangular platform acting as the antenna. "Come on." **

"The engineering is amazing." Velvet said marveled at the engineering behind the dish and wondered how the gears are kept clean while underwater. She also wondered if the dish was assembled underwater or if it was built on land before being moved to under the lake.

"Indeed, such a structure would have taken years to build." Penny said wondering if her creator could build something similar.

"It's worrying how a criminal organization could build something like that." Winter said glad that no such facility exists in Remnant under the hands of criminals. She shuddered to think of such a thing.

"Indeed." Ozpin said glad that Salem didn't have facilities like what's on screen throughout Remnant.

**Tai opened a silver case to reveal the GoldenEye tablet along with the two arming keys, removing the tablet Tai walked over to Boris. "The world's greatest cash card." He said handing the tablet to Boris but held on when he grabbed it. "It had better not be rejected."**

**Boris took the tablet and inserted it into the console, the console accepted the tablet.**

"So, he's after money." Qrow said with a scoff. "Just another criminal."

"No, there's another motivation." Summer said pondering what else could motivate him. "Money is too trivial for him."

"Revenge." Raven said getting people to look at her. "Remember what he said happened to his parents?"

"Arcadia betrayed them." Yang said not sure what that has to do with her fath—Tai.

"He wants to show them what the price of betrayal is." Jaune whispered thinking of his parents.

"Correct. They betrayed his parents that resulted in their deaths." Raven said crossing her legs. "He wants to show them the same treatment with the GoldenEye."

"Doing so would render Arcadia obsolete." Weiss said. "Their financial infrastructure would collapse since everything is run electronically. People would die and riots would break out."

"Arcadia would be plunged into chaos." Blake said finishing what Weiss is saying.

"Jaune will stop him." Velvet said confidently drawing attention to her and making her shrink before straightening. "His home is being threatened and that means he'll fight twice as hard."

"Not bad, Vel." Coco told her partner with a smile happy to see her come out of her shell briefly.

**Jaune and Nora made it to the outskirts of the radar dish just in time for the waters to fully recede thanks to the drain in the center. Jaune took a closer look and figured that Tai must have his base of operations under the dish.**

* * *

**Inside the hidden base the computer screens show the Weiss satellite coming online.**

"**Weiss is online." Boris said looking at the readings of the satellite. "Target coordinates?" **

"**Target is Arcadia." Tai said looking at the map of Remnant.**

"Looks like you were right." Leon told Raven who didn't say anything. _'You can do it, son. Save Arcadia.'_

**Jaune and Nora made it to the dish when they heard gears moving and saw the antenna moving. "He's getting ready to signal the satellite." Nora said looking at the antenna moving.**

"**How do you stop it?" Jaune asked.**

"**The transmitter above the—" **

**Whatever Nora was about to say is interrupted by gunfire from across the dish as a group of soldiers advanced on them. Jaune grabbed Nora and the two of them jumped into the dish, sliding on the wet concrete they fast approached the center where the drainage is at. Jaune stopped himself on the edge of the drainage thanks to the small metal barrier surrounding the drainage and grabbed Nora before she fell into the drainage.**

**Jaune looked into the drainage and found a hatch.**

"Coinvent." Coco said slightly disappointed.

"What were you expecting a mechanical door with a six-digit code?" Blake asked turning in her seat to face Coco.

"A girl can dream." Coco said with a smirk.

"**Antenna in position." Boris told Tai who gave him one of the arming keys.**

"**On my count." Tai said after the keys are inserted. "Three, two, one." Both men turned the keys at the same time and activated Weiss. Tai walked over to the arming switch and removed the cover before flipping the switch arming Weiss. "Long live Arcadia."**

"All this for revenge." Willow said.

"Revenge can push people to the extreme." Ozpin said thinking about his wife.

Qrow remembered when he was told about Summer missing her check in, Tai and him went to find her in Mistral after leaving the kids with Glynda. They found her body in an abandoned village, he never heard Tai cry and scream like that. He still remembered Tai holding her lifeless body and crying, screaming his pain and sorrow to the world. That day he vowed to hunt the bastards that took Summer away from her husband and children.

**Jaune and Nora entered the hidden base and hid behind a pillar on the top floor giving them a good look at the base. Guards ran throughout the base posting guards at key locations throughout the base as Jaune led the way to another hiding spot behind some pipes.**

"**The mainframe computer." Nora pointed out the room with a guard posted outside.**

"**Don't move." Jaune told her before heading out keeping his weapon out, running into an open area Jaune ran into some guards who gave away his position before he shot them. Seeing more guards Jaune took cover behind a column as they started shooting, leaning out only to get back into cover as the guards fired. Jaune saw Nora heading to the lower levels and figured that she must be up to something, meaning he had to buy her time.**

**Jaune quickly leaned out of cover and fired six shots before getting back into cover. Taking out two explosive charges Jaune synced them before exiting cover.**

**Jaune threw out his weapon and exited cover with his hands raised in surrender. One of the guards approached slowly and grabbed Jaune pushing against the wall and searched him, finding no other weapons the guard grabbed him and escorted him Tai. The rest of the guards followed unaware of the explosives Jaune planted on the fuel tanks nor did they spot six bullet holes in the tank letting the fuel out.**

"Hope his plan works." Ren said drinking more of his herbal tea.

"It will, Renny." Nora told her childhood friend. "Fearless leader hasn't let us down with one of his plans yet."

"There's a first for everything." Jaune told them.

**Nora checked the area in front of the mainframe and found that the guard is no longer there. Thanking her good luck, the redhead entered the mainframe and began accessing one of the computers.**

* * *

**The guards escorted Jaune into the room with Tai, one of the guards set his personal things on the table before backing away. The extra guards kept their weapons trained on Jaune.**

"**Jaune. What an unpleasant surprise." Tai said greeting his old friend.**

"**We aim to please."**

"**Where's the girl?" Tai asked and Jaune remained silent. "Find her!" He told one of the guards who left the room and rounded up more guards for the search.**

**Tai went to the table containing Jaune's things and went through them, picking up the pen Tai examined it. "So how is old Q? Up to his usual tricks? He asked setting the pen down and pointing to Jaune's watch. "The watch." **

**Jaune removed his watch handing it over to Tai who looked at it. Pushing back his sleeve Tai held the watch next to his. "Ah, new model. Still press here, do I?" Tai asked pressing one of the buttons on the watch disarming the explosives.**

"It's always good to have a backup plan in case things go wrong." Tai told the students of Beacon.

"He's right, if you hinge everything on a single plan and it goes wrong. You're dead in the water." Qrow added thinking back to past missions that turned bad because he didn't have a backup plan.

"Don't you normally just rush in and hope for the best?" Tai asked his friend.

"Shut up." Qrow said after a pause making Yang and Ruby laugh.

"At least we know where they get it from." Blake said to Weiss who nodded in agreement.

**The guards continued their search for Nora when one of them noticed red liquid run coming from the floor above. "Hey!" The guard shouted getting the attention of another that ran past him, reaching out he touched the red liquid and brought it to his nose.**

"**Fuel."**

**The two guards went to the floor above and saw a pool of fuel leaking out of one of the storage tanks.**

"**Alert Xio Long."**

* * *

**Inside the mainframe Nora is still typing away at the computer.**

"I wonder what she's doing?" Jaune asked taking a sip of soda.

"Probably messing around with the programming." Ozpin said getting another refill on his coffee.

"Whatever she's doing. She better get it done fast." Qrow said while trying to steal some popcorn from Summer only to get his hand slapped away.

"**Sir." The guard who found the fuel says entering the room and whispers to Tai who gestures for him to leave before looking at Jaune.**

"**Really, Jaune? Was that your plan?" Tai asks walking towards Jaune. "Cover the area with fuel and then set off the explosives." Jaune just shrugged. "I guess it's true. You can't teach an old dog new tricks."**

"**There is always something new to learn." Jaune said making Tai scoff before going to a computer and checking it.**

"**Interesting setup, Tai." Jaune said looking at the computers around him and saw an account filling up with money on one of the screens. "You break into the Bank of Arcadia via computer. Then transfer the money electronically. Just seconds before you set off the GoldenEye…which erases any record of the transactions. Ingenious."**

"**Thank you, Jaune." Tai says checking the account.**

"**But it still boils down to petty theft." Jaune says. "In the end, you're just a bank robber. Nothing more than a common thief."**

**Boris looks at Tai expecting him to have an outrage at being called a thief.**

**Tai looks at Jaune.**

"Struck a nerve." Yang said recognizing same look her dad has when someone tick him off.

"He probably thinks his goal is noble." Ghira said while thinking back to the first incarnation of the White Fang he created with the help of other like-minded individuals before handing the reins to Sienna to take care of his family and lead Menagerie.

Kali held his hand knowing what he is thinking about.

**The guards found Nora inside the mainframe and grab her forcing her away from the computers. Knocking one of the guards off she quickly hits enter before being dragged off.**

"I wonder what she did." Coco said interested in what she did.

"We'll find out soon enough." Weiss said drinking some tea.

"**You always did have a small mind, Jaune." Tai said looking at the guards dragging Nora out of the mainframe. "It's not just erasing bank records. It's everything on every computer and scroll in greater Arcadia." He said before turning around and facing Jaune. "Tax records, stock market, credit ratings, land registries, criminal records. In sixteen minutes and 43—No, 42 seconds, the Arcadian Kingdom will re-enter the Stone Age.**

"**A worldwide financial meltdown." Jaune said finally figuring out Tai's real plan. "And all so mad little Tai can settle a score with the world 50 years on."**

"**Oh, please, Jaune, spare me the Freud." Tai said walking away from Jaune and facing him again. "I might as well ask if all the vodka martinis ever silence the screams of all the men you killed?" The guards escorted Nora into the room. "Or if you find forgiveness in the arms of all those women?" He said watching Nora before looking at Jaune. "For all the dead ones you failed to protect."**

What Tai said affected the veteran hunters in the room. Each of them dealing with the grief of lost friends and loved one in their own ways. Qrow took up drinking and being more ruthless in fighting.

Leon became a family man occasionally taking jobs that took him away from his family.

Ozpin became a teacher training his students to help silence the voices of the dead accusing him of failing them.

Glynda became stricter in her lessons so her students wouldn't make the same mistakes she did when she started off as a huntress.

**Jaune didn't retort and looked at Nora.**

"**Arcadia is about to learn the cost of betrayal." Tai said before looking to Nora. "Welcome to the party, my dear."**

"**Nora!" Boris said happy to see her. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Nora who marched over and back handed him knocking him over and onto the table holding Jaune's things. Nora didn't stop with the backhand, no she followed down and started punching him while everyone looked at scene in humor.**

**Tai gestured to one of the guards who pulled Nora off Boris and held her back. Jaune moved slightly and the guards removed their safety keeping him place.**

**Boris recovered and put on his glasses which Nora knocked off with her back hand. Grabbing a pen off the ground which turned out to be Jaune's pen, he clicked it two times in frustration before getting to his feet and marching over to Nora.**

Everyone hoped that Boris didn't click the pen three times remembering what Q told Jaune about the pen and how to arm it. Then again it could also be their only way out.

"**Don't ever do that again!" He warned her.**

"**This is not one of your games, Boris. Real people will die!" Nora yelled at him. "You pathetic little worm."**

**Boris raised his hand to hit her but Tai stopped him by grabbing his arm. "She was in the mainframe. Check the computer!"**

**Boris yanked his arm free. "She is a moron. A second level programmer. She works on the guidance system." He said mockingly. "She doesn't even have access to the firing codes." Just then an alarm sounded. Boris ran to his computer while Nora smiled.**

"Never underestimate Nora." Ren said making his friend happy and his teammates smile thinking back to training when Cardin joked about beating Nora in one hit. Turned out it was Cardin the getting knocked out in one hit after Nora absorbed some lighting dust and knocked him out of the ring.

"I hear that." Jaune said having seen firsthand the consequences.

"**Retro rockets firing." Boris said upon seeing the screen before trying to fix the problem. He flipped the pen in between his fingers and clicked it twice.**

"**What the hell is happening?" Tai demanded**

"**We'll have re-entry in 12 minutes." Boris said looking to the screen to see a countdown.**

"**It'll burn up somewhere over the Atlasian Ocean." Nora said smirking to Jaune who was impressed.**

"**Deal with it." Tai ordered.**

**Boris slammed the pen on the table before turning in his chair and pointing to Nora. "She changed the access codes!"**

"**Then she can fix it." Tai said drawing his weapon and grabbed Jaune by his shirt and marched him closer to Nora and put in the gun against his head.**

"**Go ahead. Shoot him. He means nothing to me." Nora said with a smile while Jaune suppressed a sigh.**

"Really?" Yang and Coco said at the same time.

"I guess." Tai said also suppressing a sigh of his own. "Does she really think it will work twice on him?"

"Hope for the best." Winter said crossing her leg over the other.

"Plan for the worst." Emilia finished the saying.

"**I can do it!" Boris declared from his spot. "I can break her codes!"**

"**Then get on with it!" Tai shouted spurring Boris into action.**

**Jaune looked at Boris without moving his head too much to better see how he is progressing. He also saw him clicking the pen and spinning it in his hand.**

**Tai followed his sight and saw nothing out of the ordinary as Boris kept clicking away on the pen.**

'_**One, two, one, two.' **_**Jaune thought to himself counting the number of clicks. Boris kept spinning and clicking the key when Tai had enough and released Jaune moving onto Nora.**

"**Tell him! Now!" He ordered pointing the gun at her head. Boris rose out of his chair in frustration and walked over to Nora.**

'_**One, two, three!' **_**Jaune counted in his head as Boris pointed the pen in her face.**

"**Give me the codes, Nora!" Boris shouted shaking the pen.**

'_**One, two.' **_**Jaune made his move and knocked the pen out of Boris' hand and forced Nora down as the pen landed in a small puddle of fuel before exploding, though the explosion was small thanks to the guards sealing the ruptured fuel tank. It still provided a decent fireball that gave Jaune and Nora time to escape to the elevator as everyone took cover from the explosion.**

**Tai hid behind a concrete wall while Boris pushed some people down to escape the blast and flames.**

"What a dick." Yang said not at surprised to see Boris looking out for himself.

"There are always people looking out for themselves." Raven said knowing a few.

"Like you?" Summer asked making Raven silent.

"**Can Boris break your codes?" Jaune asked they were in the elevator.**

"**Possibly." Nora said breathing heavily.**

"**Possibly?" Jaune asked for clarification that went unanswered. "We have to destroy the transmitter." He said pressing the button for the top floor.**

"**By the way, I'm fine, thank you very much." Nora said recounting their time on the train.**

* * *

**Inside the base the explosion didn't do as much damage as Jaune intended as most of the computers were still intact and the fire is containable. Guards put them out with fire extinguishers before moving on to others.**

"A least they managed to stall for time." Yang said feeling anxious for the inevitable showdown between Jaune and Tai.

**The elevator reached the top floor and opened getting the guard's attention as he looked at the open doors and saw Nora lying face down. Approaching the elevator slowly the guard kept his weapon up as he entered and was ambushed by Jaune who dropped in from the ceiling and slammed him into the elevator walls knocking him out. **

**Nora got up and Jaune grabbed the guard's weapons. "Do you know how to use this?" Jaune asked handing the pistol to Nora.**

**Taking the pistol Nora ejected the magazine and put it back in and pulled back the slide. "Yes."**

"**Good. Stay out of sight." Jaune told her impressed before running across the suspension bridge to the transmitter.**

"The showdown is approaching." Peter said with an excited tone. "Two men who served together are now enemies. Only one will emerge victorious, who will it be?" Peter channeled his inner wrestling announcer making the students smile at his humor.

The only one who wasn't smiling was Oobleck. The scenario reminded too much of his friend.

**Tai walked over to Boris while looking at the destruction. He really should have known Q would make pen into a grenade. "How long?" He asked Boris, still trying to break Nora's code.**

"**Two minutes." Boris said before seeing the look in Tai's eyes. "One minute."**

"**Guard!" Tai shouted summoning a guard.**

"**I'm fixing it." Boris said trying to please Tai.**

**When the guard arrived Tai took his main weapon. "If he doesn't finish, kill him!" He told the guard before heading for the service lift. The guard drew his sidearm and Boris typed faster.**

"That one way to keep him motivated." Raven said having used the same motivation on some members of her tribe.

"Worked with you growing up." Qrow told his sister remembering their father. Not exactly father of the year material.

**Nora managed to make it out of the facility without being seen and made her into the forest where she found a helicopter along with the pilot waiting.**

"Minister of Transportation strikes again." Nora said already figuring out what her on screen is going to do.

**Kicking open the door Tai ran into the service lift and pulled the cord activating it, closing the door to the cage Tai looked at the bridge trying to spot Jaune.**

* * *

**The guard paced back and forth behind Boris making him nervous as the Weiss satellite began heating up on re-entry.**

* * *

**Spotting Jaune running Tai aimed and fired at Jaune. Jaune jumped to the ground and shot back forcing Tai to take cover in the cage. Checking the magazine Tai tossed the weapon aside when he found it empty and drew his pistol. **

**Jaune's weapon stopped firing, checking it he found it jammed and left the weapon as he continued running towards the transmitter.**

* * *

**Boris stopped typing and glanced behind him to see the guard pointing the gun to his head making him go back to working.**

* * *

**Jaune made it to the transmitter and so did Tai who tried to shoot him but Jaune stayed low to avoid being hit. Once the lift docked with the transmitter Tai opened the gate and pursued Jaune who is running down the stairs to the gears. Tai stopped and fired forcing Jaune to roll down the remaining steps and hit a pipe making him groan in pain before resuming running towards the engineering section.**

**Tai ejected the empty magazine and put in a fresh one before pulling back the slide and continuing after Jaune.**

**Entering the engineering section Jaune stopped when he heard a banging.**

"Tai isn't exactly being subtle is he?" Glynda asked wincing internally at the loud banging that Tai is causing.

"I guess subtility goes out the window when your base is destroyed and your plan almost ruined." Sienna said.

**Boris finally broke Nora's code. "Yes! I am invincible!" He declared happily before sending the command to realign the antenna.**

* * *

**The antenna began moving as Tai jumped over a rail to get to the back door. Kicking open the door Tai is ambushed by Jaune who is right behind the door and grabs the gun before punching Tai in the stomach forcing the air out him and slamming him against the door before pushing him over the rails to the first level and shooting him as he went over the rails.**

**Jaune runs around the rails to get to the stairs but stops when he sees the gears tearing, grabbing a pipe off the wall he inserts that into the gears before going after Tai.**

"Now he can focus on Tai without worrying about the transmitter." Ozpin said taking another sip of his coffee. He really needed to see if he could the beans for himself.

"This is going to be weird." Yang said talking about the fight between her father and Jaune. It kind of reminded her of her first boyfriend.

**Eventually the pipe gets jammed in the gears forcing the antenna to stop.**

* * *

**Boris sees the message that the antenna has malfunctioned and tries to fix it.**

* * *

**Jaune follows a blood trail along the walkway below the engineering section and sees a hatch leading to another section. Jumping over the railing Jaune opens the hatch and checks the area with his weapon before climbing down the ladder. Jaune hears a noise and turns around to kicked in the face by Tai hangs from the edge of the hatch before dropping in.**

Everyone winced when Jaune got kicked in the face. Those that have been knew the pain even with aura it still hurt.

"You can do it, Jaune!" Ruby cheered.

"Nothing for dad?" Yang teased seeing their father turn towards them.

"Nope." Ruby said popping the "p" and making Tai shrink in his seat. "Dad is a jerk in this universe and needs a beatdown."

"Well said." Qrow said proudly until Summer pinched his ear.

"Are you corrupting my daughter?" Summer asked innocently and with a glare that would make Miss Goodwitch envious.

"Tai?" Qrow said trying to get friend to help but the traitor ate popcorn in silence dooming him to face the wrath of Summer alone.

**Jaune tries to raise his gun but Tai kicks it out of his hand before punching Jaune in the face then in the stomach making him bend over which capitalized on by kneeing him in the face. Jaune backed up and Tai tackled him into pipes knocking them over, Tai sees the gun against the wall and goes for it.**

**Jaune knocks it out of his hands and Tai punched Jaune in the stomach twice before crossing his arms against his neck and slamming against a ladder then a wall.**

**Jaune pushed Tai's arms down and then uppercut Tai before pushing against a ladder and kneed him in the stomach and punching him. Tai grabbed Jaune by his shirt then head butted him knocking him back. Jaune got his hands up and blocked two punches from Tai before arm locking him and pushing him into a wall. **

"Not exactly elegant in their fighting, are they?" Port said analyzing the fight between the two.

"Seems more like a bar brawl." Leon pointed out seeing how they two resorted to their training briefly.

"They're trying to throw the other off." Oobleck said taking a sip of his coffee. "It's a good strategy for a while. But it wont last."

**Jaune hit the sides of Tai's head confusing him before kneeing him in the face and going for the gun. Jaune picked up the gun but Tai kicked the inside of Jaune's elbow forcing him to turn around and he kicked his hand making him pull the trigger. Tai punched Jaune in his ribs then grabbing him by the throat and pushing him against a work table.**

**Jaune grabs a chain and throws it at Tai who ducks to avoid the chain and grabs Jaune's leg when he tries to kick him, punching Jaune in the throat Tai pushes him off the table and goes for the gun.**

**Jaune gets to his feet and sees Tai with the gun, both men are panting and Jaune is using the ladder for support.**

"Cheater!" Nora and Ruby yelled at the same time pointing to the screen.

"Sadly, whoever holds the gun is the winner." Glynda said pushing up her glasses.

"Something tells me Mr. Arc isn't finished just yet." Willow said holding a glass of wine in her hand. Wiess and Winter looked to their mother before looking away in disappointment knowing how she gets when she drinks.

**Tai chuckled in between breathes. "You know, Jaune…I was always better."**

**Jaune kicks the release lever for the hatch he is standing on and holds tightly onto the ladder as it unfolds itself thanks to gravity. Tai pulls the trigger but misses as Jaune rides the ladder down the hatch. Jaune yells in pain when the ladder suddenly stops and Jaune feels something break.**

"Probably his ribs." Li said remembering when Tai hit him in the ribs.

"Jaune is lucky that he noticed the lever during the fight." Ren said impressed at his observation skills.

**Tai checks the magazine and sees it's empty before tossing the weapon away and grabbing his radio from his belt. "Alpha One to Gunship. Alpha One to Gunship!"**

* * *

**At the helicopter that Nora found the pilot quickly gets into the pilot's seat and puts on the flight helmet before starting the helicopter.**

* * *

**Jaune starts climbing the ladder as Tai starts climbing down.**

**Inside the engineering section the jammed gears start to cause the hydraulics to begin sparking.**

**Tai looks at Jaune before putting his hands and feet on the sides of the ladder and starts sliding down hitting Jaune and knocking him free. Jaune screams as he lets go of the ladder and fall backward hitting his head on the way down, reaching out Jaune grabs the last step of the ladder and holds on as best he can with one hand.**

**Tai smiles as he sees this.**

Raven bit her lip upon seeing Tai being ruthless. She could see this version of Tai standing by her side and strengthening the tribe with his knowledge.

"It's not looking good." Sun said worried for his fellow blonde.

**The helicopter takes off heading for the transmitter.**

* * *

**Jaune looks down and sees a small circular platform a few feet below him, after that is the long fall to the ground. Groaning Jaune tries to use his other hand to grab on but can't as Tai just reached the last step of the ladder. **

**Tai places his foot on Jaune's hand lightly forcing him to stop swinging. Smirking Tai steps on his hand forcing him to let go and land on the small platform, Jaune almost fell off but quickly grabbed a wire saving him from a long fall. **

Ruby gripped the chair arm when she saw Jaune fall and sighed when he grabbed the wire saving him.

"Man, talk about lucky." Yang said also breathing out a sigh of relief.

"I don't know if I can watch the rest." The youngest of the Arc sister said feeling uneasy of watching her older brother in dangerous situations.

"It'll be alright. Jaune is nothing is not resilient." Saphron told her sister before getting up and sitting next to her to comfort her.

**Boris is now shaking the computer. "Speak to me!"**

* * *

**Jaune manages to get back on the platform just as Tai drops down and kicks Jaune in the forcing onto his back. Tai grabs Jaune by the throat and forces him closer to the edge, Jaune tries to fight back but Tai punches him in the ribs before picking him and slamming him back down.**

**Hearing the helicopter approaching Tai looks up and sees the pilot and Nora pointing a gun to his head. **

**Looking away cost Tai as Jaune head butted him and kicked him off the platform, before he could fall however Jaune quickly grabs his leg keeping him from falling.**

**Tai looks at the ground before looking to Jaune. "For Arcadia, Jaune?" He asks with a small smirk.**

"**No…for me." Jaune said before letting go.**

Ruby and Yang looked away when Jaune let go, not wanting to see their father die. Tai got up and sat in between them and held them close.

"It's okay, that isn't me." He told his daughters reassuring them. Summer smiled upon seeing Tai with their daughters.

Raven looked at the scene for a moment and felt a twinge in her heart. She remembered when he held her like that when she was pregnant with Yang and she never felt so at peace before. Looking away and shaking her head to clear her head before focusing on the screen.

**Tai screamed as he fell hundreds of feet before landing on the ground hard, his right leg bent at an awkward angle.**

Everyone flinched when they saw Tai hit the ground and figured him to be dead. Yang and Ruby held their father tighter.

**Boris screamed at the computer as he watched the signal for the Weiss satellite vanish and the words "Signal Lost" appeared on the screen.**

* * *

**Tai gasped for air, blood flowing from his mouth as he looked up towards Jaune who looked back. Looking up Jaune towards the helicopter to see Nora smile at him before pressing the gun into the pilots back forcing him closer to the platform where Jaune jumped and grabbed onto the helicopter landing gear.**

* * *

**Inside the engineering section the jammed gears exploded just as the helicopter flew away. Soon a large explosion engulfed the transmitter destroying the cables keeping it suspended in the air, the flaming wreckage fell down crushing Tai and destroying the base underneath the dish.**

"It's done." Ghira simply said.

"Another mission done, huh?" Qrow said wishing he had his flask so he could drink and forget the sound of Tai screaming.

"Here." Summer held out his flask. "I took a sip, hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all." Qrow said taking the flask and taking a long sip before handing it back to Summer.

**Boris appeared from the wreckage and looked around before jumping to his feet. "Yes! I am invincible!" He declared holding his arms up in victory, just then the liquid nitrogen tanks ruptured sending super cool liquid over him and covering the area in white fog. When the fog cleared Boris is frozen solid in his victory pose.**

"Serves him right for betraying his friends." Ren coldly said getting the attention of his team.

"Ren is very protective of his friends." Nora explained with a smile.

"Good to know." Jaune said looking back to the screen.

**Away from the facility the helicopter carrying Jaune and Nora flew low enough that Jaune let go without injuring himself and Nora followed by jumping out. The helicopter flew away as Nora climbed over Jaune's prone form.**

**Jaune groaned in pain as Nora laid on top of him holding his face in concern. "Jaune, Jaune! Are you all right?" **

"**Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Jaune said getting Nora to kiss him, wrapping his arms around her Jaune rolled over so he's on top.**

"**Suppose someone is watching?" Nora asked when Jaune started kissing her neck.**

"**There's no one within 25 miles, believe me." Jaune told her resuming the kiss.**

"**Yo, Jimbo!"**

**Jaune quickly got off of Nora and saw Peter walking toward them. Getting to their feet Nora felt angry at the man for interrupting. **

"Cockblocker." Nora said crossing her arms in frustration.

"Miss Valkyrie, please refrain from using such vulgar language." Glynda told her student with a stern glare.

"You're one to talk." Emilia said drawing the attention of the blonde teacher. "I seem to recall you cursing up a storm when you couldn't get tickets to Vale in Dust."

"Isn't that a heavy metal band?" Yang asked knowing the band.

"It is, Glynda here was quite the fan."

"Is that true?" Blake asked facing Glynda as did everyone.

"I was young once and had good tastes in music." Glynda said not at all ashamed to admit that she is a metal head.

"It went beyond that." Emilia said grabbing her scroll and pulling up a picture that the blonde teacher thought was deleted. "Take a look." She said passing the scroll to Ren.

"Wow, you look hot, Miss G." Yang said looking at the photo of a young Glynda Goodwitch. She wasn't as busty as she is now, she wore black eyeliner and even had pink streaks in her hair. Wearing a black tank top with the logo of VID with a black miniskirt and torn leggings. On her neck is a choker completing her rocker look.

Suddenly the scroll became surrounded by a purple glow and flew to Glynda who caught it. "I told you to delete this photo!"

"Gotta have some proof." Emilia said with a smile.

"Can we finish watching this universe?" Leon suggested and everyone went back to their seats. James was disappointed he didn't get to see a picture of Glynda when she was younger.

"**Is this supposed to be your idea of coming through in a clinch?" Jaune asked when Peter got close enough.**

"**It's tobacco plants." Peter said looking at the trees first then to Jaune. "I said I'd be here, huh. Yo! Knights!" Peter shouted raising his hand in the air.**

**In the clearing they are in the ground moved as soldiers wearing ghillie suits got to their knees revealing themselves. Vale Army helicopters flew over the trees and hovered above the clearing.**

**Jaune and Nora looked at the hidden soldiers in the clearing with disbelief that they were there and were about to have sex in front of them without knowing. **

"Never knew you to put on a show." Yang told Nora with a smile.

"Only Jaune is allowed to see the main event." Nora proclaimed making the knight blush at her words. Ren smiled at his friend knowing that blunt doesn't fully describe her.

"Could be a kink for her." Coco said making Velvet blush at her words.

"**Maybe you two would like to finish debriefing each other back at base." Peter said before leaving for a helicopter.**

"**Ready?" Jaune asked.**

"**I'm not going on a helicopter with you." Nora declared with a smile making Jaune look at her with mock hurt. "No plane, no train. Nothing that moves."**

**Jaune picked her up bridal style. "Darling, what could possibly go wrong, eh?" He asked carrying her to the waiting helicopter.**

**Once everyone is onboard the helicopters departed Vytal Island.**

The screen faded to black and the lights come back on allowing everyone to stretch after sitting through the viewing.

"I liked that universe." Coco said feeling her back pop when she stretched. "Wouldn't mind seeing more."

"It was enjoyable." Weiss said. "Not something I would watch again but enjoyable nevertheless."

"You need to broaden your horizons, Weiss." Yang said stretching her arms. "Not everything can be a drama."

"Feel free to walk around while I set up the next viewing." Spart told everyone before disappearing in a flash of light.

Pyrrha gestured to the other girls to follow before leaving the theater with the other girls. Jaune watched them leave wondering what they are up and hoped that it wasn't a death match to see who he ends up with.

"Jaune, did something happen with mom and dad?" Saphron asked her little brother.

"Yeah." Jaune said looking over to his parents who chatted with Ghira and Kali. "Can we talk in private?"

Saphron nodded and told Terra to look after Adrian and her sisters before following Jaune out of the theater.

**A/N: I had trouble choosing which Bond era film I wanted to go with. In the end I decided to go with the campiness of the Pierce Brosnan era of Bond films. I enjoy the seriousness of the Danial Craig Bond films, but I gotta admit that the campiness of the Brosnan Bond films was a treat to enjoy, (my opinion).**

**I also changed a scene from the movie and that is the leaking fuel scene. It always bugged me how no one noticed liquid dripping from the floor above or notice the smell. So I altered it.**

**Also the notion of Roman and Oobleck being partners was first mentioned in Coeur Al'Aran fic "Professor Arc". Read it if you haven't, it's a good fic.**

**The next chapter will be up when I finish it and here is a sneak peak of the next chapter.**

* * *

"**That's not our system."**

"**I know that."**

* * *

**Stay safe everyone and see you in the next chapter.**

**\\[T]/**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm back with a new chapter. Hope everyone is doing well and being safe during this time. Anyway I had to choose what version of the film I wanted to go with. Do I go with the original 1979 release or the 2003 release with additional footage.**

**In the end I decided to go with the 2003 release simply because it adds more to film such as Ripley finding Brett and Dallas being cocooned and slowly being turned into eggs. To me this added character to Ripley, solidifying her as a badass female character that we see in Aliens. (My opinion)**

**Any mistakes are mine and mine alone. Also line break represents a scene change.  
**

**With that out off the way, let's begin.**

**Inspiration: Alien**

* * *

Jaune led his sister out of the theater and towards a nearby empty room down the hall from the theater. Opening the door to the room and checking to see if it's empty before entering. Saphron closed the door behind them and locked it making sure no one can disturb them.

"What's going on, Jaune?" Saphron asked crossing her arms under her chest and adopting a look that reminded Jaune of their mother.

"I just found out why I never received training from father." Jaune said sitting down in one of the chairs in the room. "Dad never wanted me to be a hunter." Jaune looked at his hands and formed a fist.

"He wanted me to have a simple life! After he told me stories of grandfather and our ancestors. What did he think would happen!"

Saphron waited patiently while her brother vented his feelings. In truth she knew about their parents decision regarding her little brother and his dream. She had argued with them on her brother's behalf for their father to train him. Their father refused to budge and their mother also didn't budge since Jaune is her only son.

From a parents perspective she could see their point being a parent herself. From a sisters perspective she hated them for denying her brother's dream. It pleased her to see Jaune pursuing his dream despite their parents.

Saphron sat in the seat opposite Jaune and placed her hands in her lap and looked at her younger brother. "Jaune, do you hate them?"

Jaune looked at his older sister surprised. "I- I don't hate them. Just disappointed, I always saw dad as a rock, someone to look up too."

"Did father tell you what happened to his team?" Saphron asked looking at her brother.

"Yeah." Jaune said releasing his fists. "But this is what I want. At the very least he could be supportive."

"Being a parent is never easy, Jaune." Saphron told him with a smile. "As mother I would be concerned if Adrian told me he wanted to be a hunter." She said before chuckling.

"I'm sure Terra would argue with me." Saphron said, already she could imagine the fight between them. "Terra wants him to be free from danger."

"And you?" Jaune asked curious.

"I would wish him luck and try to be there for him."

"You're a great mother." Jaune told his sister.

"Let me ask you, why is father harder on you than us?" Saphron asked looking Jaune in the eye. "Why is mother softer on you than us?"

Jaune didn't have an answer and looked at Saphron for the answer.

"Father sees himself in you and mother in us." Saphron told him the answer. "You weren't born yet, but I remember when father came back from Mt. Glenn."

"He hugged mother and cried." She said recalling that night when father came home and broke down. "It was a sight I never hope to see again. Father wanted to shield you from feeling that pain."

Saphron looked at Jaune and smiled gently. "Obviously you didn't listen."

"This is my decision." Jaune said with determination. "This is the path I choose."

"Never forget that Jaune." Saphron told her brother standing up. Jaune followed and gave his sister a hug. "This is your choice, there is no going back."

"Thank you."

"We're here for you and each other." She said releasing her brother from the hug.

"_Attention everyone please comeback to the theater."_

"Let's get back." Saphron said walking to the door and unlocking it. "Oh, Jaune. Don't let mom pressure you into marriage with Pyrrha or the others." She said walking out the door leaving behind a blushing Jaune.

Clearing his throat Jaune recomposed himself before leaving the room and heads back to the theater. Entering the theater he sees that the children and his sisters along with Terra are being escorted out of the theater by Spart's helpers.

"Don't worry, the children and the others are being led to a different theater that will show them a universe that will be more suited to them." Spart told them as Jaune sat down next to Pyrrha. "Your sister chose to go with them." He told Jaune.

"Does that mean we are going to be shown something from the dark 'verse?" Glynda asked looking at Spart.

"Yes, it's a universe that it linked to the Predator one." Spart told them making them remember the Predator universe with a shudder. "This one is actually one of my favorite unvierse to occasionally check in on."

"Let's get it over with." Yang said wondering what they are going to be shown. She hoped that Ruby will be okay, she didn't handle the Predator universe well.

The lights faded and the screen came to life.

**In the empty vacuum of space, a distance planet can be seen surrounded by a ring, the light from the sun reflecting off the planet and the ring giving it a warm orange glow. Drifting by the planet is a ship.**

**Commercial Towing Vehicle 'The Nostromo'**

**Crew: seven**

**Cargo: refinery processing 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore**

**Course: returning to earth**

**The ship drifts through the vastness emptiness of space on auto. **

"Another one set in space." Summer noted with excitement being a sci-fi girl.

"It does resemble a mining refinery." Li noted looking at the ship's overall design.

"The Nostromo?" Nora said with a small tilt of her head at the name of ship. "They need a better name."

"A ships name has meaning. Some of them can be personal to those who named it." Ren said knowing how some Captains are when it comes to their ships name.

"Still it should be something majestic! Like Slothian." Nora declared.

"Is that even a word?" Yang asked.

"It's best not to think rationally when it comes to Nora." Pyrrha advised RWBY.

**Inside the ship, nothing can be heard, the corridors are devoid of life giving off an unsettling atmosphere. The kitchen and dining area along with the infirmary are empty, even the bridge is silent. The rustling of paper is the only thing that can be heard. Over the pilot seats are emergency helmets in case of a hull breach or lack of oxygen should occur. None of the screen on the bridge are on, almost as if the ship is asleep.  
**

"The silence is indeed unsettling." Weiss said feeling uneasy by the silence. The halls of Beacon were always filled with noise and even at night the sounds of owls and other nocturnal animals could be heard. Bu the silence of the ship is unnerving.

"Anyone else getting a mild case of claustrophobia?" Jaune asked and some nodded showing that he isn't the only one.

"Where is the crew?" Nora asked.

"Different area of the ship?" Yang said unsure.

**Suddenly a screen came to life with a loud noise.**

RWBY and JNPR as well as some of the adults jumped at the sound since they weren't expecting it.

"Stupid noise." Nora grumbled and Ruby nodded in agreement since she doesn't handle horror or jump scares well. That is more Yang's department but even a seasoned horror connoisseur, Yang was startled by a simple noise of a computer coming on.

"Cheap jump scare." Sun said trying to sound calm despite his nerves. Like Ruby he didn't handle horror that well.

**The images on the screen could be seen reflecting off the helmet's visor, different screens appear running through the ship's systems. A noise similar to digital clicks can be hears almost as if two machines are talking in their own language.**

**Soon everything on the ship slowly comes back to life as lights come back on and the door to the stasis pods opens and the lights come up. The clear lids of the cryo pods open with a hiss as the crew members slowly wake up. **

"So the crew was asleep." Jaune said looking at the screen trying to spot himself through the clear lids of the pods.

"Are we gonna see Jaune in his underwear?" Velvet whispered blushing as her imagination took off.

Coco smiled when she saw Velvet's blush and leaned closer to her partner. "Are you going to enjoy _hopping _his bones?" She whispered into Velvet's ear.

"No!" Velvet yelled getting everyone's attention. She yelped before sinking lower into her seat in a attempt to hide. Coco chuckled at her partners action, Velvet is to easy to tease and the poor girl is a bit of an introvert. She tried helping her overcome her shy tendencies with little success. Hopefully being here will help her.

**One of the crew members is the first to wake up as he moves his arm slowly and removes a monitoring tag on his neck and sits up with his eyes still closed. Breathing slowly before swinging his legs over the pod and standing up. The man grabs his robe with a yawn before walking towards the shower just as another crew member wakes up.**

"Where is Jaune?" Nora pouted not seeing Jaune in any of the pods.

"He could be in a different pod in another room." Ren told his friend knowing that she wants to see Jaune naked or as close to naked as can be. He felt bad for Jaune since Nora could be tenacious when it comes to things she likes such as pancakes and seeing Jaune naked. Once he found Nora setting up micro cameras in the shower. Ren told her that he would no longer make pancakes for her if she kept the cameras up and he only saw a blur as Nora quickly took the cameras down.

After that he made sure to remind her that the threat still stands and he swore Nora looked like a kicked puppy but he stood his ground to protect his friend's nudity.

"I hope we get to see him." Nora whispered to herself.

**In the dining area everyone is fully dressed and eating and some are smoking, others are drying their hair after a much needed shower as they chat among themselves. **

"**What do you say? You got any biscuits over there?"**

"**I keep seeing corn bread."**

"**I am cold." One of the female crew members said.**

"**Still with us, Qrow?" **

**Qrow took a large sip of coffee. "Right."**

"Finally I make an appearance." Qrow said looking to his on screen self with a smirk at finally being seen on the big screen.

"Bart, as well." Glynda said noticing the familiar green hair that her fellow teacher has.

"Is that Amber?" James said noticing the Fall Maiden sitting at the table.

"Yes, it is." Ozpin agreed recognizing the familiar woman.

Yang noticed that her partner is writing something down in a notebook. "What are you doing?'

"I'm writing names down." Blake said showing her notebook to Yang and the others to see. Indeed there are names written down of everyone on screen.

"Where's Jaune?" Ruby asked curious about her friend's whereabouts.

"I don't see him." Emilia said also wondering where her son is until her eyes landed on a blonde woman sitting next to Qrow. _'It can't be. Can it?'_

"**Oh, I feel dead."**

"**Anybody ever tell you, you look dead, man?" Some of the crew laughed. Qrow covered his mouth with his hand and mouthed something to his friend.**

"**Oh, yeah, right. Now, I just forgot something, man." Taiyang or Tai said. "Before we dock, I think we oughta discuss the bonus situation."**

"**Right, right." Qrow said while rolling a cigarette.**

"**Qrow and I, we think we oughta – We deserve full shares, right, baby?" Tai asked gesturing to Qrow.**

"**You see, Mr. Tai and I… feel that the bonus situation has never been on equitable level."**

"**Well, you'll get what you're contracted for like everybody else." Ozpin, the captain of the ship told them from his spot across the table.**

"**Yes, but everybody else gets more than us." Qrow said while a beeping sound can be heard in the background.**

"**Ozpin, MOTHER wants to talk to you." Bart, the science and medical officer said noticing the beeping.**

"Mother?" Bart asked thinking it has to be an acronym for something.

"Most likely it's the ship's A.I." Summer said wanting to see the tech of this universe. So did Velvet.

"Ever the geek." Qrow said making Summer stick her tongue out at him in a manner similar to her daughter.

"I wonder what she looks like." Penny said interested in seeing the machine. She wondered what her creater would think of MOTHER.

**Ozpin looked behind him and saw the beeping yellow lights. "Yeah, I saw it. Yellow light's for my eyes only." He said getting out of his seat and grabbing his jacket. "Okay, get dressed, huh? Tai, come on."**

"**Can I finish my coffee?" Tai said raising his cup of coffee for Ozpin to see who grunted an acknowledgement. "Thank you. It's the only thing good on this ship."**

"Another coffee lover." Ozpin said holding his cup to the screen in a toasting gesture.

"Hopefully they don't spend half their budget on coffee." Glynda said recalling when she saw the budget report for Beacon and saw that half of the budget has been spent on coffee.

"I still don't see Jaune." Ren said eyeing each of the crew but didn't see his friend. "The only other blonde is the woman sitting next to Qrow."

"Maybe that is Jaune." Emilia suggested and everyone looked at the blonde woman on screen.

"She does have blue eyes like Jaune." Coco said noticing some familiar features that Jaune has.

**Ozpin entered the bridge taking a sip of his coffee, heading to MUTHUR's core and inputting the code on the panel next to the door. Ozpin entered the small corridor and set his coffee cup on a shelf before pressing a button and entering another code, a small panel opened and Ozpin took the key card inside and inserted into another panel which opened up compartment. Inside the compartment is another button, pressing the button granted him access to MUTHUR.**

"Such heavy security." James said already getting ideas for something similar to some R&D labs in Atlas.

"Makes sense if MOTHER controls the ship." Jaune spoke up. "She probably controls the systems when the crew is asleep."

"Interesting design." Penny said examining the core of MOTHER. It reminded her of her father's lab.

"I wonder what happens if you skip a step?" Pyrrha wondered seeing all the steps that went into accessing MOTHER.

"The alarms would sound probably." Ren told her while sipping some hot tea.

**Grabbing his cup of coffee and walking to the entrance of MUTHUR and pressed the open button and entered MUTHUR's core. The core is a small room surrounded by screens and blinking lights that housed MUTHUR, the artificial intelligence that helped the crew of the Nostromo in mining operations. In the center of the room is a chair in front of a console that the Captain can use to directly communicate with MUTHUR, sitting in the chair, Ozpin pressed a switch that rotated the chair so it faced a screen.**

"**Morning, MOTHER." Ozpin said while typing bringing up a screen that showed all the ship's systems. Scrolling down to "Interface" and pressing it brought another screen.**

" _**READY FOR INQUIRY"**_

"**WHAT'S THE STORY MOTHER?"**** Ozpin typed.**

* * *

**Inside the bridge, the crew sit in their assigned stations and start turning on their screens.**

"**Right."**

"**Okay." One of the pilots said sitting in the pilot's chair which moved forward bringing him closer to the screens. "Plug us in." The overhead lights came on along with the other screens.**

"**Thank you." Bart said putting on a headset and flipping some switches on the overhead panel.**

**Amber, the other female of the crew looked at her screens and noticed something was off. "Where's Earth?"**

"Earth?" Bart asked looking to Spart for clarification.

"This world line's version of Remnant. Jane Arc and the rest of the crew work for a large multinational conglomerate known as the Weyland-Yutani Corporation."

"So the blonde woman is Jaune." Nora said looking at the blonde woman at her station. "It's FemJaune!"

"She's hot." Pyrrha said looking at the screen before realizing that she said that out loud and hid her face behind her hands.

"So, even as a girl, you still have the hots for Jaune." Yang said looking at Pyrrha as she pulled a Velvet and shrunk further into her seats.

"She looks like you." Leon told his wife seeing how Jau-Jane looked. Emilia nodded in agreement unsure what to say.

"8/10." Ilia said finding the older and female version of Jaune attractive. She was always attracted to black hair but maybe it's time to broaden her horizons to include blondes.

"I'm confused by what you mean, Ilia" Penny said looking at the chameleon Faunus. "Why would you assign a number to friend Jaune/Jane?"

"We'll tell you later." Ruby told her friend.

"How large is the Corporation?" Weiss asked Spart wondering how it compared to the SDC.

"If we're comparing it to the SDC. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation could buy your company fity times over." Spart told and every Schnee in the room had wide eyes when they heard just how large Weyland-Yutani is.

"**You should know."**

"**It's not our system." Jane said from her spot behind Amber.**

"**Scan." Kane said flipping a switch and the screen moved showing the nearby stars but no Earth.**

"**I can't believe this." Amber said with sigh.**

"**Contact Traffic Control." Kane told Jane **

"**This is commercial towing vehicle Nostromo out of the Solomons. Registration number: 1-8-0-niner-2-4-6-0-niner. Calling Antarctica Traffic Control. Can you read me? Over." Jane said trying to contact Traffic Control and repeated what she said. "Nothing."**

"**Keep trying." Kane said.**

"**Calling Antarctica Traffic Control. Do you read me, Antarctica? Over." Jane said while Amber worked on finding out where they are.**

"**I found it. Just short of Zeta II Reticulli" Amber said bringing up a map of the system while Jane can be heard still trying to contact Traffic Control in the background. "We haven't reached the outer rim yet."**

"**That's hard to believe." Kane said bringing up a map of the system.**

"**What the hell are we doing out here?"**

"Are they off course?" Pyrrha asked now sitting properly in her chair.

"Don't see how that could be possible with MOTHER controlling the ship." James said having some experience when it comes to computers, navigation and Artificial Intelligence.

"There is a first for everything." Ozpin said taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"True." Willow said thinking of Winter and her desire to join the military.

"Unless something caused the ship to alter it' course." Penny said and everyone looked at the former android. "MOTHER could have certain conditions built into her that made her alter the ship' course."

"If that is the case. Then what are the conditions?" Sun asked. Penny shrugged in response and went back to watching the screen.

"**I don't know. What the hell are you talking about?" Kane said in disbelief.**

"**That's not our system." Jane pointed out.**

"**I know that." Amber said with a forced smile.**

* * *

**Inside the maintenance area of the ship, Tai and Qrow walk down a corridor. "Do you ever notice how they never come down here?" Tai asked following Qrow. "I mean, this is where the work is, right?"**

"**It's the same damn reason we get a half share to their one." Qrow said looking over his shoulder to Tai. "Our time is their time. That's the way they see it."**

"**No, but- listen, man."**

"**Same old shit, man."**

"The same could be said of Faunus workers." Sienna spoke up. "They don't get paid for their hard work and are instead harassed, put down, and generally looked down upon."

"And instead of addressing the issue calming, you chose the more violent path. Making it harder for the rest of the Faunus, who have nothing to do with the White Fang." Kali said glaring at Sienna who glared back. "You're putting a blade against every Faunus out there that just want to live peacefully."

"Peacefully? Don't kid yourself, Kali." Sienna said looking at Kali. "There is no peacefully when it comes to Humans and Faunus."

"Enough!" Leon yelled looking at Sienna and the Belladonna's. "Save it for after the showing, when in a more private setting."

"I agree." Ghira said placing a hand on his wife's shoulder calming her down.

"**I think I know why they don't come down here." Tai said as they turned a corner and went down another corridor. "It's because of you. You don't have no personality."**

"I have plenty of personality." Qrow said defensively. "Right?" He asked his nieces.

"Yup." Ruby and Yang said at the same time.

"It's improved over the years." Tai said agreeing with his daughters.

Summer smiled sadly at the interaction between the three wondering what else she missed. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts from her mind, there will be plenty of time to make up for and hopefully make new ones.

"Raven, on the other hand..." Tai said looking at his ex. She looked back and dared him to finish his sentace which he didn't.

**In the dining area, everyone is gathered except for Tai and Qrow who are now just entering after being called.**

"**Wonder what they want now. What's going on down here?" Tai asked upon entering the dining area. "Um, you happen to be in my seat. Can I have it?" Tai asked Bart who is sitting in his seat at the table.**

**"Yes, of course." Bart said getting out of the seat. "I'm sorry."**

"**Thank you." Tai said before wiping his seat and sitting down. "What's happenin' now, baby?" **

**Ozpin put his right leg on the seat of the chair and leaned on his knee with his arm. "Well, some of you may have figured out we're not home yet." He said looking to his crew. "We're only halfway there."**

"**What?" Tai asked looking to Ozpin.**

"**MOTHER's interrupted the course of our journey."**

"**Why?" Kane asked.**

"**Yeah, she's programmed to do that should certain conditions arise. They have." Ozpin explained to the rest.**

"**Like what?" Jane asked curious.**

"**It seems she has…" Ozpin paused trying to figure out how to say it. "Intercepted a transmission of unknown origin. She got us up to check it out."**

"**A transmission? Out here?" Jane asked confused.**

"It looks like you were right Penny." Yang said ordering a soda.

"Maybe it's aliens." Neptune said ordering some pizza that he shared with Sun and even offered a slice to Weiss who declined respectfully.

"Hopefully they don't meet the Predators." Weiss said hoping to not see another one of those creatures again.

"Something tells me that we'll see them again in the future." Ozpin said casting a glance to Spart who floated in place above them.

"We'll see. There are plenty of good world lines that feature them." Spart said ordering some tea.

"**Yeah."**

'**What kind of a transmission?" Amber asked.**

"**Acoustical beacon. It repeats at intervals of 12 seconds" Ozpin told them.**

"**S.O.S.?" Kane guessed.**

"**I don't know." Ozpin answered looking to Kane.**

"**Human?" Jane asked looking at Ozpin.**

**Ozpin shrugged his shoulders. "Unknown."**

"He just told them that it was from an unknown source." Weiss said crossing her legs and ordered some lemon water. "How clear can he be?"

"Miss Schnee, it would be safe to assume that every ship in space would transmit a sort of identification signal to prevent collisions even when the crew is asleep." Bart said pushing up his glasses so the light from the screen reflected off them hiding his eyes. "Given how little information is presented to us, we can assume that only Humans or Faunus are the only ones in space at the moment."

"That does make sense." Jaune said after processing what their history professor said.

"I wonder if there is a planet ruled by sloth's?" Nora wondered out loud.

"There is a planet ruled by apes." Spart informed them.

"**Well, so what?" Qrow asked earning a chuckle from Tai.**

"**We are obligated under section eight-" Kane said before Tai cut him off.**

"**I hate to bring this up, but, uh. This is a commercial ship, not a rescue ship." Tai said placing an arm on the back of his chair.**

"**Right." Qrow said agreeing with him.**

"**And it's not in my contract to do this kind of duty." Tai said looking to the rest of the crew. "And what about the money? If you wanna give me some money, I'll be happy to oblige." Tai said looking to Qrow who nodded in agreement.**

"**The man's right."**

"**Let's go over the bonus situation."**

"Money makes the world go around." Raven said with a smirk. "Or in this case runs the ship and the crew."

Everyone chose to ignore her unless she had something useful to say.

"**I'm sorry. Can I say something?" Bart asked while Tai is stilling asking to go the bonus situation. Eventually he quieted down and allowed Bart to talk. "There is a clause in the contract which specifically states… any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated."**

**Tai put his head on the table frustrated. "I don't wanna hear it."**

"**We don't know if it's intelligent." Qrow pitched in.**

"**I wanna go home and party."**

"**Tai, will you just listen to the man?" Ozpin yelled clearly frustrated with him.**

"Suddenly I'm recalling Tai in his youth." Glynda rubbing her temple remembering the blonde man and the parties he would throw in their dorm in an attempt to impress Raven.

"I can suddenly see the family resemblance." Weiss said thinking back to the times Yang tried to throw a party their first year in Beacon. Of course with the help of Ruby they put a stop to it.

"I remember issuing a lot of detention to team STRQ." Ozpin said with a fond smile remembering his students in their youth before they learned the truth.

"Why was our team punished for something Tai did again?" Summer asked looking at Ozpin.

"Because said person is part of a team. His punishment is yours, team bonding and all that." Ozpin told her makign her pout at the answer.

"It wasn't fun." Summer said crossing her arms remembering all the detentation with Port. They had to clean his trophies while listening to him tell the tales of his youth.

**Bart nodded his thanks before looking to Tai. "On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money." Tai looked his shoulder at Bart with a look of annoyance.**

"**You got that?" Ozpin asked.**

**Tai chuckled lightly trying to make the tension lighter. "Well, yeah."**

"**Alright, we're going in."**

"**Yeah. We're goin' in, aren't we?" Tai asked Qrow before playfully hitting him in the arm.**

"Something tells me that this will be their last voyage." Winter said watching the screen.

"Sheesh, debby downer much." Yang said drawing the ire of Weiss.

"That is no way to speak to my sister." Weiss reprimanded her teammate. "I have been respectful to your family. The least you can do is be the same towards mine."

"Including your dad?" Yang asked looking Weiss directly in the eye. Weiss looked away before speaking.

"He is the exception."

Winter looked at her sister from the corner of her eye and understood how she felt about their father. All Jacque cared about is extending his reach and securing his legacy, the man was never a father to them.

**On the bridge, everyone finds a spot to sit or stand as Amber sits in her chair at her station. **

**Ozpin clears his throat. "Can we all hear that, Amber?" Amber flicks a switch and the transmission can be heard on the speakers. Everyone on the bridge listens to the electronic pulses of the transmission.**

**Kane scoffs. "Good god."**

"**Doesn't sound like any radio signal I've heard." Jane said setting her cup of coffee down.**

"**Maybe it's a voice." Amber suggested.**

"**Well, we'll soon know." Ozpin said before looking to Amber. "Can you hone in on that?" **

**Amber brings up a map of the system.. 'What was the, uh, position?"**

"**6550-99."**

**Amber inputted the coordinates and the computer beeped before showing where the signal is coming from. "All right. It found the quadrant. Ascension: six minutes, 20 seconds. Declination: 39 degrees, two seconds."**

"**Okay. Put that on the screen for me." Ozpin said pointing to the screen in front of him. Amber pressed the button and the screen in front of Ozpin came to life showing the location of the transmission.**

"LV-426." James said reading the name of the planet that the signal is coming from.

"Strange name for a planet." Port said while leaning back in his chair.

"Could be an unexplored planet." Bart said with excitement at seeing an unexplored planet. "Just imagine the history off the planet."

"Never change, Bart, never change." Port told his friend with a smile.

"**All right. Well, that's it." Amber said as everyone looked at the screen. "It's a planetoid. 1200 kilometers."**

"**It's tiny."**

"**Any rotation?"**

**Amber pressed some keys and another screen appeared next to the image of the planet. "About two hours."**

"**What about gravity?"**

"**Point eight-six"**

"**You can walk on it." Bart said looking at the screen, Jane looked at him before taking a sip of her coffee.**

"I suppose they are going to have to land on the planet to find the signal." Ren said getting a refill on his tea.

"I wonder how they are going to land that large ship." Velvet wondered thinking of the ship's design from the scene of the Nostromo flying through space. She couldn't imagine the ship is capable of landing on a planet.

"It is possible they are going to take a smaller craft down to the planet." Penny said adopting a thinking pose.

"That makes sense." Velvet said looking at the screen.

**Slowly the Nostromo flew towards the planet.**

* * *

_**"Approaching orbital apogee." **_**Amber said over the radio. "**_**Mark 12, 11 –"**_

**On the bridge everyone is at their stations and wearing their harness since re-entry can be a bumpy ride. "Equatorial orbit nailed." Bart said plotting a course to the planet.**

"**Nine, eight seconds on descent."**

"**Grids energized. Fields focused."**

**"Five, four-"**

* * *

**Soon the Nostromo arrived at the planet where the transmission is coming from.**

* * *

**Ozpin looked at the screen in front of him. "D.O.R.'s online."**

"**What's the status of the lifters?" Jane asked from her station.**

"**Give me an A.C. pressure reading." Ozpin told her.**

* * *

**The Nostromo is now in orbit of the planet.**

* * *

"**Forty-eight seconds and counting."**

"**SR-1 stable."**

"**Prepare to disengage from the platform." Ozpin told the crew on the bridge.**

"**Mark, 20 seconds. Eighteen, 17 –" Amber counted down as the bridge prepared to disengage from the rest of the ship.**

* * *

**The bridge separated from the rest of the ship and is being held by a crane that extended. **_**"Three, two, one, lock." **_**The crane stopped.**

"There is your answer Miss Scarlatina. The bridge can separate from the main body of the ship." James said interested in the engineering that went to the creation of the ship.

"I didn't think of that." Vevlet admitted also interested in the engineering behind the ship.

"Maybe some of our dreadnoughts should have something similar." Winter suggested knowing that their dreadnoughts could benefit from such a design. In case of catastrophic damage then the bridge could separate from the body of the ship.

"The engineering would be a nightmare. Not to mention the cost of retrofitting the entire fleet would be too much for Atlas." Sienna explained to Winter and earning a nod of approval from James.

"She is correct, Winter." James said glancing at Sienna who scoffed and went back to watching the screen.

"I didn't know that so much went into entering into a planet's atmosphere." Pyrrha said not having much experience when it came to sci-fi or movies in general. She always spent her time in training.

"Every sci-fi movie is different when it comes to this sort of thing." Summer said while getting a refill on her popcorn. "Some just gun it and others are like this. Where there is a process."

**Ozpin flipped a switch on the overhead console. "Disengage." The clamps on the crane released the bridge.**

"**Umbilicus clear." Jane said watching the screens.**

**Ozpin flipped more switches on the console. "Money's safe. Let's take her down."**

* * *

**The ship engines come to life for a brief second just long enough to push the ship forward leaving behind the main section of the ship.**

* * *

"**Roll 92 degrees port yaw." Kane said watching his screen as the ship followed the trajectory.**

"**Prime to port."**

* * *

**Above the planet the ship prepares for entry to the planets atmosphere.**

* * *

"**Prime ventral. Prime dorsal."**

"**Down a degree."**

"**39,000 meters." **

**The ship passed through the atmosphere and began shaking. "Turbulence." Jane said while looking for a good spot to land.**

"**Locked and floating. You can drop us anytime now. We'll catch you." Jane said looking at her screens and sees the landscape slowly coming closer.**

"**Inertial damping's going off. Hold one, people. There's going to be a little bump." Ozpin told the crew and the shaking intensified as the ship slowly descended. The sound of metal creaking loudly could be heard throughout the ship.**

"That can't be good." An said knowing that any creaking sound from any ship can't be good.

"That will probably hinder their ability to take off." Iliia said ordering a cup of peach tea.

"I'm sure they can repair it." Velvet said finding it hard to believe that a ship doesn't have spare parts on board.

"I think that depends on how extensive the damage is." James said.

"**What the hell was that?" Tai asked looking over his shoulder trying to find the source of the creaking.**

"**Pressure drop in intake three. Must've lost a shield." Qrow said over the radio and pressed some keys trying to confirm.**

* * *

"**Let's go with it." Ozpin said watching the screens as the ship slowly approached the ground.**

"**Dropping off now." Bart said watching his screens closely. "Still dropping. Here we are. We've got it."**

"**Take her down." Ozpin ordered lowering the landing gears. "Navigation lights on." On the belly of the ship rows of lights can be seen along with large searchlights that help in visual navigation.**

"**We've got 5-3 still out. No problem. Just down 11%." Kane said as the shaking lightened up a bit. "Grid status okay."**

* * *

**Slowly the ship descended towards the ground.**

* * *

"**Five, four, three, two, one." Amber counted down.**

"**Kill drive engines." Ozpin said as the ship was a few feet from the ground. The landing gears touched the ground but one of the gears touched down in an awkward position and sound of creaking metal can be heard. **

**Inside the bridge everyone is jolted in their seats roughly and some of the consoles exploded in a shower of sparks as an alarm went off along with some pipes rupturing. Quickly everyone undid their harness and grabbed a fire extinguisher and began spraying at the electrical fires.**

"I've seen worse landings." Emiilia said and she meant it having once been in a crashing bullhead during her time with the Knights.

"Same here." Qrow said from his spot, of course his experience came from his semblance which caused the bullhead's engines to malfunction.

"I'm never riding in the same bullhead as you, uncle Qrow." Ruby said remembering the time the bullhead had to do an emergency landing due to an engine failure. She was riding with uncle Qrow and she never forgot the experience. Evertime Qrow comes by the house they need to be careful not to fall victim to his semblance.

"**What the hell happened?!" Ozpin shouted over the alarm. Bart went to his station and turned the alarm off. "Somebody give me a straight answer!" **

"**Is the hull breached?"**

"**I don't see anything. We've still got pressure." Jane said looking at the screens at her station.**

"**Hit the screen." Ozpin ordered as Kane sat back down at his station.**

"**Right."**

"At least the hull wasn't breeched." Saphron said while wondering what Terra and the others are watching.

"Looks like bad luck follows you in any world line." Raven told her brother which he ignored and focused on the screen.

"I wonder if that's an omen for things to come." Li spoke scratching his chin.

"It feels like it." Ren said agreeing with his father.

**Outside the ship intense winds are blowing up the sand and particles into the air.**

* * *

"_**Secondary load sharing unit… is out." **_**Tai said over the radio. **_**"Three to four cells are gone."**_

"**Is that it?" Jane asked as everyone on the bridge took in the news.**

"_**No, hold on. We can't fix out here anyway, and we need to reroute a couple of these ducts, wouldn't you say, Qrow?" **_

"**Dry dock time." Kane said looking at Ozpin sitting in his chair.**

"What's that?' Ruby asked not familiar with the term when it comes to ships.

"It's usually ten to fourteen days." James told her. "Though they can go on longer. It's not uncommon."

Ruby nodded and looked back at the screen. "Can they do it without a proper dock?"

"Probably, depends on the damage. At best they can patch up the minor things but the larger damage will need a dock." Velvet told her. "Hopefully the damage isn't too servere."

"Don't jinx it." Ruby told her.

**Inside the engineering section of the ship, Qrow and Tai are assessing the damage. "Dry dock. Tell her we need to dry dock." Qrow tells Tai who flicks the radio switch.**

"**Look, we couldn't fix it out here anyway. We gotta reroute all these ducts." Tai said pointing to the exposed wiring in the panels of the walls. "And in order to do that we've gotta dry dock."**

* * *

**Ozpin sighed at the report. "What else?"**

"_**Some fragments kicked up, and we got to clean it out and repressurize it."**_

* * *

"_**How ling before we're functional?" **_**Jane asked over the radio.**

"**Look, what is –what –" Tai said frustrated.**

"**Its 17 hours, tell her."**

"**At least 25 hours." **

"**Yeah."**

"_**Get started on the floor panel. I'll be right down." **_**Jane said on the radio.**

"**What the hell's she comin' down here for?" Tai asked looking to his partner as a spark off in the background.**

"**She better stay the fuck out of my way, I'll tell you that." Qrow said ducking under some exposed wires with the flashlight to see the extent of the damage.**

"**I'd like to see what she's gonna do when she gets here."**

"Probably readjust your attitude." Sun said with a smirk. "Something tells me that Jau- Jane is the strong willed type."

"She must get it from me." Emilia said with proud since all of her daughters are strong willed. "No offense, honey.'

"None taken." Leon said and he meant it, after all that's what attracted him to her in the first place. That and her uniform, he loves a woman in uniform.

"Jane probably deals with people like Qrow and Tai all the time." Yang said wondering just what type of woman Jane is. "So, she probably knows how to deal with them."

**Back at the bridge Ozpin came back from the kitchen with a fresh reheated cup of coffee. "Any response yet?"**

"**No. absolutely nothing." Bart said sitting at his station. "Except the same transmission every twelve seconds. All the other channels are dead."**

**Ozpin ran a hand through his beard. "Kick on the floods." He told Kane. Outside the ship the floodlights came on showing a barren rocky landscape.**

"What a desolate planet." Glynda said being reminded of the images taken of the Grimm lands provided by drones before they were destroyed by Nevermore's.

"Looks like something out of a nightmare." Willow said feeling uneasy just by looking at the landscape.

"Some might find it beautiful." Ozpin said thinking of Salem and her castle in the Grimm lands.

**Ozpin sat on a console next to Bart's station, Kane walked over and looked at the screen. "We can't go anywhere in this."**

"**Mmm." Was Ozpin's reply.**

"**Well, MOTHER says the sun's coming up in 20 minutes." Bart told the two.**

"**How far are from the source of the transmission?" Ozpin asked Bart.**

"**Uh, northeast. Just under 2,000 meters."**

"**Walking distance?" Kane asked making Ozpin laugh.**

"**Well –" **

"**Can you give me an atmospheric?" Ozpin asked Bart.**

"**Yes." Bart replied flicking some switches. "Oh. It's almost primordial." He said looking at the readings. "There's inert nitrogen, high concentration of carbon dioxide crystals, methane. I'm working on the trace elements."**

"What does that mean?" Blake asked Pro- Doctor Bart sitting with the rest of the teaching staff above the students.

"I do not know. I have a Doctorate in History, Miss Belladonna. Not in Science." Bart told her making the black haired girl nod and looked back at the screen. "Still, its interesting to hear."

"**Anything else?" Ozpin asked looking at the readings on the screen.**

"**Yes. It's… rock, lava base, and deep cold. Well below the line."**

**Kane looked at the screen then to Ozpin. "I'll volunteer to be in the first group to go out."**

"**Yeah, that figures." Ozpin said looking to Amber, who is smoking at her station. "You too, Amber."**

**Amber sniffs and smiles. "Swell."**

"**Better break out the weapons." Ozppin said leaving the bridge with Kane and Amber following. **

"Hopefully they don't need them." Yang said being hopeful.

"It's better to be safe than sorry." Leon said thinking back to the times he packed an extra med kit or aura booster and was told that he didn't need it. Only for a situation to arise when he did need to use them.

"Plus they are looking for an unknown signal on an unexplored planet." Port said from his spot next to Bart. "I remember one time I was told to investigate an abandoned factory and-"

"That sounds like a fascinating story and I'm sure the students would love to hear about in detail at a later date." Leon said and all the students gave him a look of disbelief, betrayal, and horror.

**Inside the operation control room, Bart finished putting a green jumpsuit. Taking a few steps before running in place to help loosen the jumpsuit so it won't be too constrictive, after that Bart sat down in front of a console.**

* * *

**Inside the airlock Ozpin, Kane, and Amber are wearing EVA suits. The suits are bulky with some plating around the shoulders and chest for protection against debris, the helmet features a headlamp on top of the helmet and has a large visor designed to protect the wearer's face and give them as much view as possible. The airlock doors hiss before opening and the strong wind blows into the airlock.**

"Those look fun to move around in." Velvet said while wondering how much those suits weigh with everything on.

"Brings back memories of basic." Emilia said remembering the times she had to run in full gear and that was before she joined the Knights. _"Maybe we should run in full plate armor." _Emilia smiled at the memory of her friend and eventual spotter. _'I miss you J.'_

"Could you imagine trying to fight in that?" Yang asked and suddenly she was engulfed in a flash of light. When the light died everyone saw that Yang is wearing the same EVA suit as those on screen.

"How does it feel?" Ruby asked eyeing her sister sitting in her chair in the bulky space suit.

"Very warm and uncomfortable." Yang said though her voice was muffled somewhat by the helmet. She lifted her arm slowly and made a fist. "It's tough to move around in."

The flash of light appeared again and Yang is back in her clothes, everyone looked at Spart. "You can see the suit after the showing and even have the opportunity to try it on."

"I can't wait." Summer practically jumped in her seat at the prospect of seeing the suit and maybe trying it on.

**Ozpin leads the group out of the airlock carrying a small case of equipment. All three step onto the lift that begins to lower them towards the ground.**

* * *

**Bart sits in the chair that moves from the console to an observation booth so he can better see the trio. Seeing the three make it to ground level and leave the lift, Bart's chair rotates to face the monitors.**

* * *

"**I can't see a goddamn thing." Amber yelled over the wind.**

"**Bart, are you receiving?" Ozpin asked looking to the observation booth.**

* * *

**Bart waves at the group even though they can't see him and smiles. "Good contact on my board." He tells them looking at the monitors to check their camera feeds.**

"_**Clear and free. Keep the line open." **_**Ozpin says facing the camera. **_**"Let's go." **_**The trio leave the ship to find the source of the transmission.**

"Despite the circumstances, I'm envious of the group getting the opportunity to explore an uncharted world." Bart said with envy in his voice and eyes. "If only it were possible to visit other worlds in our world line."

"One day, we will." James said hopeful for their future. Atlas is looking into other potential energy sources other than Dust. If they can find a suitable source than they can gradually move away from Dust.

"I wonder what Remnant looks like from space." Jaune said imagining what their planet looks like.

"I'll show some pictures later." Spart told them watching the screen.

**Inside the engineering section, Tai and Qrow are in the process of ****repressurizing the section when they spot Jane checking the panels. The two walk over and Qrow lights a cigarette with a just used welding rod.**

"**Hey, Arc." Tai said placing a hand on the wall next to some pipes and a valve. "Hey, Arc, I wanna ask you question." He yelled over the sound of the coolant being pumped through the vents. Jane turned to them. "If they find what they're lookin' for out there, does that mean we get full shares?"**

"**Don't worry, Tai. You'll get whatever's coming to you." Jane replied making him smile.**

"**Look, I'm not gonna do any more work…till we get this straightened out." Qrow stated.**

"**Qrow, you're guaranteed by law to get a share."**

"**What?" Tai asked.**

"**Why don't you just fuck off." Jane said turning to leave.**

"That's my girl." Emilia said with pride.

"She defiantly has some of your personality." Leon told his wife making her smile.

"Damn right."

"Sexy." Velvet whispered wishing that Jaune could take that tone with her in the bedroom when the time comes.

"They seem at odds with each other." Ilia said noticing the slight tension between the two.

"Yeah, you're right." Yang said also noticing it. It reminded of her guys back in signal that would annoy her.

"**What?" Tai asked again with a smile.**

"**What'd you say, Arc?"**

**Jane turned to them. "If you have any trouble, I'll be on the bridge." She said before leaving the two to their work.**

"**Hey, Arc, come back here!" Tai begged mockingly before twisting the valve to the off position and stops the coolant vents with a chuckle. "Son of a bitch."**

"**What's the matter?" Qrow asked taking a puff of his cigarette. Tai turns the valve back to the on position.**

* * *

**Over the barren landscape, the trio continue their trek through narrow passages and vents blowing gas into the air.**

"**Can't see a goddamn thing." Amber gripped.**

"**Quit griping." Kane said annoyed.**

"**I like griping." Amber replied looking to Kane.**

**Ozpin turned to face the two. "Come on. Knock it off." He chastised the two silencing them.**

"I'm reminded of my earlier days as a teacher." Ozpin said with a chuckle at the memories of rowdy and eager students. Every now and then he liked to teach before advancing to the headmaster position.

"I'm reminded of every combat class." Glynda said happy to be taking an impromptu vacation away from Beacon. She had to dea with teenagers constantly baiting each other in combat class, and she had to constantly remind them that in the field they need to focus. Some took her advice and others chose to ignore it.

"I'm reminded of Ruby and Weiss our first year of Beacon." Blake said earning shocked looks from both Ruby and Weiss. "I couldn't get any sleep the first week because you two were always arguing about something.

"Sorry." Ruby said giving her a shy smile.

"It worked out in the end." Blake said also smiiling. She couldn't help it since Ruby was so damn adorable and she knew it too.

**Back at the ship, Jane set her coffee cup down and sat down at a nearby station and turned the screens on. Loading up the transmission on the screen before leaning back and ran a hand through her blonde hair. The binary numbers on the screen repeating every twelve seconds; she activated the decoding program and waited. In the background is an orange tabby cat named Jonesy, grooming himself without a care in the world as too what's going on.**

"Aww, such a cutie." Kali cooed at the sight of the Jonesy grooming himself. "Remember that white cat we had, Blake?"

"Sergeant Fuzzy Boots, I remember." Blake said recalling the fluffy white cat that she had when she was a child.

"Please tell me that you picked out the name." Yang said trying her best not to laugh and failing.

"I was young and he was so fluffy." Blake said defending the name she chose.

"Our cat's name is Mr. Whiskers." Jaune said thinking of his sister's calico cat.

"How original." Blake said wondering how they got to talking about pet names.

**The harsh winds stopped blowing over the rocky landscape leaving only silence in its wake now that the sun has come up. Even though the sun is in the sky, it didn't do much in terms of light, everything was still dark and what little light that managed to make it though the dense clouds barely illuminated the land.**

**The trio passed through a narrow passage making sure to avoid the gas vents. The only sound came from the vents and from the suits respirators. The group made it out of the passage and came upon an open area where they saw something in the distance that stood out among the rocky barren landscape. The object had smooth lines from what they could see, it appeared to be a ship.**

"Looks like they found the source of the signal." James said looking at the ship on screen and felt nauseous just by looking at it.

"Something feels off about the ship." Pyrrha said feeling nauseous like James. Something about it just felt wrong.

"Yeah." Yang said feeling uneasy by the ship and they still haven't seen it up close yet.

"**Bart, can you see this?" Ozpin asked knowing that Bart is watching through the cameras.**

* * *

"**Yes, I can." Bart said looking at the screen in amazement and zoomed in on the ship. "I've never seen anything like it." **

**Bart watched the screen in amazement and made sure to record everything.**

* * *

_**The group made their way towards the ship. "It's very bizarre."**_

_**The helmet camera began to malfunction the closer the group got the ship. "All right. Moving on to second… position."**_

"_**What is it?" Amber asked as they go to the ship. "Let's get out of here." She said feeling uneasy in the ship's presence.**_

"_**We've got this far. We must go on." Kane said. "We have to go on."**_

* * *

"**Will you say that again?" Bart asked only to get static. "Shit." Looking at the screens showed that the camera's still work but would flicker in and out.**

"_**Bart, as you can see, it's kind of hard to describe." **_**Ozpin said over the radio.**

"**I'm going back to the console." Bart said pushing a button on the chair that moves back to the console.**

"The ship must be projecting some kind of field that is disrupting their communications." Jaune said looking at screen and the occasion skips in the helmet cams. "I wouldn't be surprised if communications cut off."

"I agree." Winter said agreeing with him surprising Weiss.

"It could be part of a defense mechanism." Leon said looking at the ship.

**The group arrive at the ship and are amazed at the sheer size of it. A fog rolled in and made it hard it to see the ship. From what they could see, the ship has an asymmetrical, wishbone design, with what appeared to be thickened central section between two prongs. One of the prongs appears to be shorter than the other.**

"Interesting design." Velvet said marveled by the engineering and wondered who built it.

"They aren't going to enter it, right?" Ruby asked nervous chewing on her lower lip.

"Looks like it." Blake said also feeling nervous since she read a lot of horror books and could see something lurking inside the ship waiting for new victims.

**Bart sits at the console and tries to boost the signal to the team, on the screen the team seemed to be exploring the outside of the ship.**

* * *

"_**Seems to be solid. To walk- you can walk on it." Ozpin said examining the hull of the ship.**_

* * *

**Bart continued to watch on the screens. The group found a large opening in the side of the ship that they used to enter. The moment they entered the ship, the camera feed shut off showing only static.**

"**Ozpin?" Bart asked over the radio only to be met with static. "Shit."**

"Looks like you were right, Jaune." Ren said impressed that his friend managed to call it.

"It was just a guess." Jaune replied with a shy smile.

"I wonder what they're going to find." Sun said wondering what horrors are lurking inside the dead ship.

"Anything living would be dead, depending on the severity of the crash and how long its been." Sienna said taking a sip of wine. Her instincts were screaming at her that something is wrong.

**Inside the ship, the trio walked down corridors making sure to not touch anything. The inside of the ship differed from the outside, the hull of the ship had smooth lines while the inside had organic designs giving the feeling that the group are inside a creature making them feel unsettled. As they progressed through the ship they grew unsettled since the only thing they could hear is their own breathing and the sounds of their respirators. **

"Silence seems to be a thing in this world." Tai said noticing the lack of ambience.

"It does help create the feeling of unease." Summer said knowing how unsettling it can be when everything goes quiet and the only thing you can hear is the sound of your own breathing.

"The interior of the ship is giving me the creeps." Weiss said feeling uneasy just by looking at the organic construction of the inside of the ship.

"Same here." Ruby said playing with the ends of the cape.

**Ozpin stopped to gather samples while Kane and Amber continued. Kane noticed something above him. "Come on down here. Something different down here." He told Ozpin and Amber. "I don't know what it is, but- See if we can get up that wall. If we can get up that wall, we can find out."**

**Ozpin and Amber looked at the wall in question while Kane went to find a way up. Eventually he found some footholds and began the slow climb up the wall. Soon he reached the top and what he saw took his breath away, hearing the others climb made him remember what he's doing and grunted with effort as he pulled himself up.**

**Kane and the others found themselves in a large open chamber and they stood on a platform. In the center of the platform is what appeared to be a chair with something sitting in it. The chair looked to be attached to a spire that pointed towards the ceiling.**

"What is that sitting in the chair?" Port said squinting at the screen to try and make it out.

"Need glasses, Port?" Bart asked with humor in his voice at the sight of his co-worker squinting at the screen.

"Nonsense, I have perfect vision despite my age." Peter said defending his actions.

"Looks like a skeleton." Blake said looking at the screen. "I wonder how old it is."

"**Amazing." Kane said taking in the area.**

"**Alien life form." Ozpin said as he and Amber examined the chair and saw a humanoid skeleton. "Looks like it's been dead a long time. Fossilized." Both Ozpin and Amber climbed the chair to get a better view. "Looks like it's grown out of the chair."**

"It's possible that the skeleton fused with the chair during the decomposition." Bart theorized.

"Or maybe something like a harness is giving the illusion that it's grown out of the chair." Sienna said looking at the screen with interest. She wondered what secrets the alien ship might be hiding.

"This is quite the find." Willow said looking at the alien skeleton in the chair.

"Do you think that's a gun?" Nora asked refering to the chair that the alien is sitting in. "It looks like a gun."

"I don't know, Nora." Ren said intrigued by the alein ship. "Maybe its the pilot chair."

**The two made it to the top and saw the skeleton up close. "Bone are bent outward." Ozpin said noticing the broken bones on the chest. "Like he exploded from inside."**

"**Wonder what happened to the rest of the crew." Amber said while Ozpin examined the bones more closely. She looked at the skeleton and noticed that even though it had a humanoid appearance, it was vastly different. The bones are thicker and the structure of the skeleton is larger than that of a human, she wondered how big the alien had to be. Sitting in the chair it was still larger than any of them. **

"That thing might be larger than the Predators." Yang said trying to imagine just how tall the alien might be.

"Did something come out of him that killed him?" Nora asked hoping that the crew don't run into what killed the alien.

"It would appear so. There is very little to go on." Glynda said taking in everything about the dead alien.

"**Let's get the hell out of here." She suggested having enough of ship and the silence. Ozpin's helmet light shined on the skeleton giving them a better view of it's head.**

"**Hey, Ozpin, Amber, come on over here." Kane said kneeling next to a melted patch on the platform that looked to lead to another chamber. "Come on." Amber climbed down first while Ozpin took one last look at the skeleton.**

"**What do you got?" He asked Kane before climbing down after Amber. With the light gone, the skeleton was once again bathed in darkness.**

"**See what you make of this." Kane said pointing to the hole.**

* * *

**On the bridge, Jane noticed something about the transmission after part of it was decoded. "Bart." She said over the radio. "That transmission- MOTHER's deciphered part of it. It doesn't look like an S.O.S."**

"**What is it, then?" Bart asked from the operation control room.**

"**Well, I- It looks like a warning." Jane said. "I'm gonna go out after them."**

"She won't make it in time." An said thinking of the time it takes to get into the suit and then the travel time to the ship. It would be too late to warn them. "With communications down they can't warn them over the radio."

"So, they're on their own." Ilia said knowing the feeling of being on your own.

"That's the way it goes sometimes." Qrow said taking a sip from his flask.

"**What's the point?" Bart asked watching the screens. "I mean by the time it takes to get there, you'll- they'll know if it's a warning or not, yes?"**

* * *

**Jane doesn't like his reasoning as she flicks the radio to off and grabs Jonesy as he passes by.**

* * *

**Bart exhales deeply and wipes sweat from his brow as he re-watches the recording from the helmet cams.**

"He has a funny way of showing his concern." Leon said ordering some water.

"He's not wrong though." Raven said. "I'm sure we'll see what the warning is referring too."

**Back at the ship, Ozpin and the others set up a small crane with a winch that lowers Kane into the hole he found. **

"_**You okay down there?"**_** Ozpin asked over the radio as Kane is lowered down a shaft. **_**"Can you see anything?"**_

"**Uh… a cave." Kane said as he clears the shaft. "A ca- A cave of some sort. But I- Well, I don't know, but it's like the goddamn tropics in here." He said referring to the heat and the humidity he feels through his suit as he goes lower into the chamber. **

"**What the hell is this?" He asks himself while shining his handheld light around to better see. When he reached the bottom, Kane tugged the line notifying Ozpin and Amber that he's reach the bottom and to give him some slack so he can explore.**

"**The cave is completely enclosed." Kane said describing his surroundings as he began his exploration. "And it's full of... leathery objects, like eggs or something." **

"Those do look like eggs." Kali said trying to see the eggs better through the mist that is covering them.

"There must be hundreds of them." Coco said lowering her sunglasses to better see the screen and the eggs.

"There is no way they can still be alive." Bart said intrigued. "Based on the skeleton, it can be assumed that at least years have passed."

"The Grimm can live for hundreds of years under the right conditions." Ghira said recalling what he knew about the Grimm. "It could be the same for the eggs.

"Interesting, some form of hibernation?" Bart said to himself.

**Kane walked on what appeared to be a platform, on either side of the platform are small convex chambers that are full of the eggs that Kane saw. Above the chambers is a thin layer of mist that glows blue from the blue lights on the walls, kneeling down Kane reaches towards the mist.**

"**There's a layer of mist… just covering the eggs that reacts when broken." Kane said as he broke the layer of mist. Kane losses his footing and slips into the chamber.**

Ruby yelped thinking that something grabbed Kane and pulled him into the chamber.

"It's OK, Rubes." Yang said comforting her sister.

"_**Kane? Are you all right?" **_**Ozpin asked hearing the sound of shuffling over the radio.**

"**I'm okay. All right." Kane said as he got back to his feet, thankfully the fall didn't damage his suit. "I'm okay. I just slipped." **

**Kane looked the eggs and approached one and kneeled in front of it to get a better look. The top of the egg has four "lips" that are closed and its greenish grey in color. "Appears to be completely sealed." He noted reaching out to touch it when it hissed when his hand came to touching it. **

"Some type of warning? Like a rattlesnake?" Bart talked to himself pulling out a notebook and began writing notes down.

"Then maybe he should heed it." Ilia said wondering why he doesn't just leave. "Bloody curiosity is going to be the end of him."

"We don't know that." Ruby said looking at Ilia for a moment.

**Withdrawing his hand quickly, Kane shined his light on the eggs and noticed that it appeared to be partially translucent since he could see movement in the egg. What looked like fingers could be seen twitching. Grabbing his gun and looking around before looking back at the egg and sees movement.**

"It's reacting to the light." Jaune said feeling uneasy seeing the erratic twitching inside the egg. Pyrrha grabbed his hand for support and comfort.

"It almost looks like a hand." Blake whispered feeling a chill go down her spin.

"**Wait a minute. There's movement." Kane said shining his light on the egg, the light from his light making the egg "glow". "It seems to have life. Organic life."**

**The egg opened making Kane stumble back a bit. Shining his light, Kane could see the inside of the egg, white veins can be seen along with a pulsing sack. Kane got closer to the egg.**

"No." Ruby yelled at the screen.

"Don't do it!" Sun also yelled. "Get out of there."

**He leaned over it.**

**Something screeched as it jumped out of the egg toward Kane knocking him over.**

Ruby screamed and pulled her hood up hiding her face.

"Shit!" Yang screamed and jumped in her seat. "I hate it when they do that. Wait for your face to get close then boo!"

"Yang!" Weiss screamed not expecting Yang to yell making the poor girl jump in her seat again.

"What was that?" Jaune asked once he got his heart rate down.

"It looked like a pair of hands." Coco said after taking a deep breath to calm herself.

**Outside the ship everything appeared to be calm with the wind gently blowing.**

* * *

**Inside the operations control room, Bart is sitting looking out the window when he spots Ozpin and Amber carrying Kane towards the lift.**

"Is he-" Ruby asked dropping her hood to look at the screen again.

"I don't know." Pyrrha said letting go of Jaune's hand. "I hope they can help him."

"I'd be more concerned about the thing that attacked him." Ghira spoke looking at the screen. "It could have followed them."

"Meaning it could enter the ship." Sienna said following his train of thinking and Ghira nodded.

**An alarm alerts Jane that the group is back and she sets Jonesy down.**

* * *

**Bart heads to the airlock as Ozpin and Amber set Kane down on the lift and head up to the airlock.**

"_**You there, Arc?" **_**Ozpin asked over the radio.**

"**I'm right here." Jane said flicking the radio switch to on.**

* * *

**Ozpin and Amber gently set Kane down in the airlock before sealing the outer doors.**

* * *

**Bart arrived at the inner doors and peeked through the small windows to make sure the group is in. "Okay, Arc, I'm at the inner lock hatch now."**

"_**Right."**_

* * *

**Inside the airlock Ozpin and Amber hold their arms out while the decontamination protocols are activated. "Okay, Arc. We're clean. Let us in." Ozpin said.**

* * *

"**What happened to Kane?" Jane asked from the bridge.**

* * *

"**Something as attached itself to him." Ozpin said waiting for the inner doors to open. "We have to get him to the infirmary right away."**

"_**What kind of thing? I need a clear definition."**_

"**An organism. Open the hatch." Ozpin said agitated.**

"And they brought him back to the ship?" Raven said finding the decision stupid. "What are they stupid?"

"You'd probably leave him behind." Qrow said looking at his sister. "Probably consider him dead weight."

"I would think of everyone else." Raven countered. "By bringing Kane back, they could doom the rest of the crew."

"Didn't think you care about anyone else other than yourself." Leon said earning a glare from the bandit.

"I care for those that serve me." Raven said making him Tai and Summer scoff.

"Evidently that doesn't include your daughter or me." Tai said looking at his ex-wife.

"Let it go. It's obvious that the three of you need to talk or fight it out." Ozpin said with a firm voice. Raven huffed but didn't say anything else and went back to watching the screen.

"**Wait a minute. If we let it in, the ship could be infected." Jane said still on the bridge. "You know the quarantine procedure- 24 hours for decontamination."**

* * *

"**He could die in 24 hours. Open the hatch." Ozpin said again looking at Bart though the small window.**

* * *

"**Listen to me. If we break quarantine, we could all die." Jane explained over the radio.**

"I hate to admit but she does have a point." Neptune said getting everyone's attention. "I mean there is a reason for such procedures. By bypassing or refusing they could endanger not only the crew but the ship. It sucks but she's doing the right thing.

"I agree." James said agreeing with Neptune. "Sometimes doing the right thing requires a hard choice and I respect Jane for following proper procedure."

"Since when is doing the right thing difficult." Ruby whispered looking at the floor. She felt herself being pulled into a hug.

"It's just how the world is, sweetheart." Summer said comforting her daughter. "It's not always black and white."

"**Look, would you open the goddamn hatch? We have to get him inside." Amber said clearly frustrated and shaken.**

* * *

**Jane hesitated for a moment before making her decision. "No, I can't do that."**

"Sometimes hard decisions are needed." Ozpin said looking at the coffee in his cup thinking back on every bad decision he made over his different lives.

"Such is the way of the world." Leon added with a somber tone.

**Bart is looking through the small viewing widows and looks in the direction of the bridge in disbelief.**

"_**And if you were in my position, you'd do the same."**_

* * *

"**Arc, this is an order. Open the hatch right now." Ozpin ordered. "Do you hear me?"**

"_**Yes."**_

* * *

"_**Arc, this is an order! Do you hear me?"**_

"**Yes, I read you. The answer is negative." Jane said again sticking to her decision. Bart is quietly listening to the exchange.**

* * *

**Ozpin punched the door in anger and went to check on Kane.**

* * *

**Bart pressed the unlock button and backed away to let Ozpin and Amber enter. "Inner hatch opened." He said over the radio.**

"Why would he do that?" James asked confused at Bart's onscreen actions. "He could endanger the crew."

"Isn't Ozpin the Captain? Could be he's just following orders." Glynda said but also finding the action odd.

"Something isn't right, with the Captain gone the second in command has authority." Winter said thinking about the situation.

"So Jane is in command?" Ren asked looking at the screen as everyone brought Kane on board.

"If that's the case, then Bart just disobeyed an order." James said with disapproval.

"He could be protecting his friends." Qrow said looking at James. "Loyalty to friends will always take precedence over orders."

"He's right." Ghira said agreeing with Qrow.

**Inside the medical bay, Kane is on the operating table still alive with his helmet still on but his suit is discarded. The thick visor is broken and melted, and something is inside the helmet. Ozpin and Bart are in surgical garb and wearing masks, Ozpin holds the sides of the shattered helmet while Bart cuts the helmet using a special tool that doesn't cut human skin. The device lets out a gentle whirring as it cuts through the helmet.**

**Finishing the cut, Bart sets the cutter down and assists Ozpin in removing the helmet so they can see what the organism is. **

"**My god." Ozpin says upon seeing just what is attached to Kane. Bart looks in amazement.**

"That is disgusting." Weiss said having to look away from the screen. Everyone felt the same when they saw what is attached to Kane.

Blake shivered when she imagined something crawling up her back.

Ruby hugged her sister for comfort already imagining the creature lurking in the dark corners of their dorm room, waiting for them to go to sleep.

"It cracked his helmet." Jaune said wondering just how strong the creature is to be able to get through a space helmet.

**The organism resembles two skeleton hands fused together with a spine like tail. The long digits are wrapped around Kane's skull keeping it secured to his face, it's tail is wrapped around his neck, and the sacks on the either side of the body can be seen expanding and contracting, almost like it's breathing. Pale yellow is the color of the skin of the organism; it almost looks like a spider hugging Kane's face.**

"**What the hell is that?" Ozpin said still holding a section of Kane's helmet.**

"A very good question." Bart said trying his best to sketch the creature and cursing his lack of artistic ability. "It almost looks like its hugging his face."

"So, a face hugger." Yang said seeing the creature hugging Kane's face tightly.

"An apt name." Blake said looking at the creature and seeing the tail wrapped around Kane's neck and wondered what purpose it holds, since the creature's fingers wrap around to the back of his head.

"Is it keeping him alive?" Sienna asked seeing the sacks on the creature moving.

**Outside the med bay, the rest of the crew save for Jane who is coming from the bridge watch what is happening through the observation window.**

"**Jesus Christ." Qrow said backing away from the window and sitting on the bench next to Tai who is sitting on the floor. "What is that, man?"**

**Tai looks up from his magazine and looks at the scene on the other side of the glass. "Hey, how the hell is he breathing?" He shouted wanting to know.**

"Another good question." Bart said taking notes and writing down his theories in his notebook.

"**Is he still alive or what?" Qrow asked.**

"**Hey, why don't you guys freeze him?" Tai asked/suggested closing his magazine and sitting on the bench. "How come they don't freeze him? What's going on in there?"**

**Amber heard the sound of Arc coming down the ladder from the upper decks.**

"**What the fuck is going on?" Jane asked once on the deck and approaching the group. Amber walked up to her and slapped her hard on the side of the face.**

"**You bitch!" Amber yelled as Jane stumbled and grabbed the wall for support. Amber wasn't having it and grabbed the front of her jumpsuit.**

"**Jesus Christ!" Jane yelled trying to push Amber away. Fortunately Tai and Qrow helped and pulled Amber away before any more punches could be thrown.**

"**Hey! Hey!" Qrow yelled getting between the two while Tai pulled Amber away.**

"**You would've left us out here." Amber yelled while struggling to get free from Tai.**

"**Break it up. Break it up." Tai said still restraining Amber.**

"I get where she's coming from but at the same time, Jane was doing her job to keep the ship safe." Velvet said seeing both sides of the argument. Jane was doing her job by not letting Amber and the others in. Amber on the other hand was concerned about her friend.

"Tensions are high right now." Ren said seeing the signs among the crew.

"Can you blame them?" Jaune asked looking at his friend.

"_**Arc, when I give you an order, I expect to be obeyed." **_**Ozpin said through the intercom.**

**Jane looked at Ozpin though the glass. "Even if it's against the law?!"**

"_**You're goddamn right!"**_

**Tai let go of Amber when she calmed down and looked at Ozpin. "Maybe she has a point. Who the hell knows what that thing is!" He shouted and pointed at the organism hugging Kane's face.**

* * *

"**How are gonna get that off him?" Ozpin asked setting down the helmet. "How are gonna get it off?" He asked again when Bart didn't answer.**

"**I'm gonna get some instruments." Bart said holding out his hand in a placating gesture before opening a compartment revealing medical instruments, he grabbed set of medical tongs.**

"Are they going to attempt to pry it off." Ruby asked hopeful that they are successful.

"It looks that way sis." Yang told her younger sister with a smile which brought a smile to Ruby. Summer smiled at the interaction between the two.

"**My god." Jane said upon seeing Kane and the organism.**

* * *

"**Right. I'll make an incision here." Bart said moving to the side of Kane's head. "Try and remove one of the digitals from-"**

"**You're gonna do what?" Ozpin asked.**

"**Finger. I'm gonna try and get his finger off. Just a minute." Bart said placing the tongs on one of the fingers and tried to move it only for the tail to tighten around Kane's throat. **

"**No, that's not- It's tearing his scalp." Ozpin said noticing that Kane's scalp is tearing as the finger moved.**

"**I know!" Bart said frustrated and set down the tongs.**

"**It's not coming off without tearing his face off with it."**

"It was worth a shot." Yang said with a sigh. "That thing really doesn't want to come off."

"There must be more to its actions." Nora said thinking. "What does it want?"

"I'm afraid we can't really know." Ozpin said looking at the creature on screen. _'What are you doing?'_

"**We'll have to take a look at him inside." Bart said moving to a machine and began calibrating it. "Right."**

* * *

**Outside everyone is watching the scene unfold. "How come they don't freeze him?" Tai asked again and no one answered.**

* * *

"_**How come you guys don't freeze him?" **_**Tai's voice can be heard through the glass.**

**Bart finished calibrating the machine and a panel opens as Kane's bed moves and enters the machine and the panel closes. Bart activates the machine after the panel closed.**

"**All right, you can take your mask off." Bart said removing his mask as did Ozpin. The machine scanned Kane and projected the scans on the screens.**

"**What's it got down his throat?" Ozpin asked looking at the screens.**

"**I would suggest it's feeding him oxygen."**

"**Paralyzes him, puts him in a coma, then keeps him alive." Ozpin said looking at Kane lying still in the machine. "Now what the hell is that?"**

"It could be trying to take control of him." Nora said horrified. "It's a brain bug!" She shouted pointing at the screen.

"Somehow that could make sense." Yang said already imagining the scenario with Kane running around the ship with the creature still attached to him and controlling him.

"We shall have to wait and see." Li told them.

"**We gotta get it off him." Ozpin said looking away from Kane.**

"**Just a minute. Just a minute." Bart said getting Ozpin's attention as he continues to look at the screens. "Let's not be too hasty. We don't know anything about…it. Now, we're assuming it's feeding him oxygen. If we remove it, it could kill him."**

**Ozpin is quiet as he weighs the decision in his mind. "I'm willing to take that chance. Let's cut it off him now." He says making his decision.**

"**You'll take responsibility?" Bart asks to make sure.**

"**Yes, yes. I'll take responsibility. Get him out of there." Ozpin says putting back on his mask.**

"If the worst does happen. The blame will fall on him, not the crew." Emilia said before taking a sip of her wine.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Weiss said and her team looked at her shocked. "What?"

"Why would you say that? You jinxed it." Ruby told her partner.

"Ruby, there is no correlation-" Weiss began but stopped when Ruby covered her mouth.

"Don't jinx it more." Ruby hissed.

"**Where do you wanna do this?" Ozpin asked as they prepared the medical instruments.**

"**We'll make an incision just below the knuckle there." Bart said pointing to the area as he turned on the cutting laser.**

"**Right here." Ozpin said holding towels on either side of the pale finger to soak up the blood.**

"**Stand by." Bart put the laser against the skin and slowly made a cut, the moment the cut was pale yellow blood shot of the wound and landed on the floor. "Good god!" **

**A sizzling sound could be heard near the blood and the laser cutter began smoking. Ozpin looked at the blood and noticed that the floor is melting. "That crap's gonna eat through the hull."**

"Is it acid?" Yang asked unsure.

"It looks like it." Bart said continuing to write in his notebook.

"That thing has acid for blood!" Nora yelled. "How would we fight such a thing? Bullets would only cause the blood to spray everywhere and blades would melt after cutting them."

Ruby imagined cutting one of the face huggers with Crescent Rose and seeing the blade melt from the blood. The imaginary scene made her cry mentally at the thought of Crescent Rose melting. She made a vow to treat Crescent Rose to be acid proof or at the very least able to resist its affect.

"Make a hell of a defense." Sienna said slightly impressed at the biology of the creature. "Can't kill it without the blood melting everything. And can't remove it without tearing the face off."

"Sounds like you admire it." Blake said looking to the leader of the White Fang.

"In a way, I do." Sienna admitted.

**Ozpin opened the door to the medical bay and ran past the crew. "That thing's gonna eat through the goddamn hull. Come on!" He yelled spurring them into action. Ozpin climbed the ladder to the deck below medical and started searching for the blood. **

"**This way." Ozpin said opening a door and noticing the smell of burnt plastic and rubber. The blood had melted through the ceiling and is now melting through the toe of a boot and the floor. "Next deck."**

**The crew made it to the lower deck and started searching for the blood, they made sure to move carefully and stay close to the walls. The sound sizzling caught the attention of Tai first.**

"**There it is." He said pointing to a spot on the ceiling where the metal grating is beginning to melt. Everyone ran to check it out. "Don't get under it! Don't get under it." He told everyone as they looked at the grating melting.**

"**Looks like its stopping." Jane said noticing that the grating isn't melting as fast as before. Ozpin is looking around for something to poke into the grating.**

"**Take a look at this, man." Tai said to the Qrow moving aside to let him see.**

"**Yeah."**

**Ozpin noticed a pen in Qrow's shirt pocket. "Qrow, give me- What do you got, a pen there?" He said pointing to the pen before removing his medical gown. "Give it to me, quick. Come on! Come on!" Qrow handed him in the pen and Ozpin stuck the end of the pen into the melted grating.**

"**Don't get any on your arm."**

**Ozpin removed the pen and saw the tip is smoking. "It stopped. Don't see anything like that except, uh, molecular acid." He said examining the pen and then the grating.**

"**It must be using it for blood." Qrow said looking at the grating.**

"**It's got a wonderful defense mechanism." Tai said while chewing gum. "You don't dare kill it."**

"**What about Kane?" Jane asked looking to Ozpin.**

**Ozpin didn't answer and handed the pen back to Orow. "Here's your pen back."**

"**What do we do now?" Qrow asked holding the ruined pen.**

"**Leave Kane to Bart. You get back to work." Ozpin told Qrow and Tai as he left with Jane in tow.**

"At this point, it's all they can do." Jaune said ordering a soda. "At least the acid blood stopped."

"After melting through two decks." Ren spoke. "I wonder how potent the acid in its blood is?"

"I would guess a PH of maybe -25 or lower." Glynda said earning surprised looks from the students and the teaching staff. "I'm a Professor or Beacon." She said with pride. "With a lot of reading time."

"Huh, learn something new everyday." Nora said turning back to watching the screen.

"Ever the book worm." Emilia said remeberign when she met Glynda and how she loved to read and listen to music.

**Tai and Qrow are in the process of fixing a console and rerouting wires. "Okay. Try it." Qrow said removing his goggles. Tai flicked a switch but nothing happened except for the sound of metal scrapping each other. "Damn it. I though sure that was it."**

"**Try it again." Tai said once again flicking the switch and the same thing happened.**

"**I feel like I've been in this place a month."**

"**We shouldn't have landed in this place in the first place." Tai said adjusting a dial.**

"**Shouldn't have landed on this damn ball, I know that."**

"**Well, the sooner we patch this thing up and get out of here, the sooner we can go home." Tai said sitting down in front of computer looking at the readings. "This place gives me the creeps."**

"I heard that." Yang said cracking her neck. "I wonder how long they've been on the planet. Hours, days?"

"I see nothing that could indicate a passage of time other than the repairs." Blake said from her spot.

**Inside the medical bay Kane is lying on one of the beds while Bart has his back to him while he works on analyzing the samples he took from the organism. He places a slide under a microscope and looks at through the magnified lens.**

"**That's amazing. What is it?" Jane asks coming up behind him. What she is referring too is the image on the monitor.**

"**Ah, yes, it is. Um-" Bart looks at the image. "I don't know yet." He says turning off the monitors and stretching. "Did you want something.?"**

"**Yes. I, uh-" Jane grabs a medical tongs and opens it and closes it. "I'd like to have a little talk. How's, uh- How's Kane?"**

"She wants an explanation for earlier." James said having done the same things multiple times throughout his career. "I would like to hear his explanation."

"You would." Qrow said smirking. "Ever the stickler for the rules. You must have been fun during school. Always the first to class?"

"As a matter of fact, I was." James said with straight face silencing Qrow.

"**He's holding. No changes."**

"**And, uh, our guest?"**

"**Well-"**

"**Hmm?"**

"**Well, as I said, I'm still… collating, actually, but, uh. I have confirmed that he's got an outer layer of protein polysaccharides." He began explaining what he found while writing a report "He has a funny habit of shedding his cells… and replacing them with polarized silicon, which gives him a prolonged resistance to adverse environmental conditions."**

**Bart stops writing and looks at Jane who is leaning against his desk. "Is that enough for you?"**

"**That's plenty." Jane said before looking through the microscope lens. "What does it mean?"**

"**Please don't do that." Bart said stopping Jane from looking and putting down his report. "Thank you."**

"**I'm sorry."**

"**Well, it's and interesting combination of elements." Bart said scratching his ear. "Making him a tough little son of a bitch."**

"**And you let him in." Jane said looking Bart.**

"**I was obeying a direct order, remember?" Bart said looking back at Jane.**

"**Bart, when Ozpin and Kane are off the ship, I'm senior officer." **

"**Oh, yes. I forgot." **

"Something tells me that he conveniently forgot." An said not believing Bart on screen.

"I agree." Willow said looking at Bart on screen. _'Why, though? That's the real question.'_

"**You also forgot the science division's basic quarantine law." Jane stated.**

"**No, that I didn't forget." Bart said putting his hands on his desk.**

"**Oh, I see." Jane said not surprised. "You just broke it. Huh?"**

**Bart placed a hand on his hip and turned to face Jane. "Look, what would you have done with Kane? Hmm? You knew his only chance of survival was to get him in here."**

"**Unfortunately, by breaking quarantine, you risk everybody's life."**

"**Maybe I should have left him outside." Bart said thinking back to the airlock. "Maybe I've jeopardized the rest of us, but it was a risk I was willing to take."**

"**That's a pretty big risk… for a science officer." Jane questioned. "It's not exactly out of the manual, is it?"**

**Bart was silent for a minute before answering. "I do take my responsibilities as seriously as you, you know." Jane listened patiently. "You do your job… and let me do mine, yes?" Jane set down the medical tongs and leaves.**

**Bart removed his surgical gloves and tossed them before grabbing a glass of milk and drinking the whole thing.**

"Why do I get the feeling that something else if going on." Pyrrha said looking at the screen. "He reminds me of some sponsors that wanted something more from me."

"Did that happen a lot?" Jaune asked concerned.

"A few times once I got older and more…developed." Pyrrha said the last part with a blush. "Of course, after I reported a sponsor to the authorities. It stopped."

"Is that why you came to Beacon?" Ren asked looking at Pyrrha.

"Yes and no. I came to Beacon to get away from the endless praise and to make friends." Pyrrha said folding her hands in her lap. "It got annoying. 'Miss Nikos your amazing, please marry me, I can rub your shoulder, what's your bra size, you're a goddess.' It got so annoying to have to thank them and smile, even towards the perverts." She said with frustration.

"It's nice see you complain about something." Yang said with a smile as she looked at Pyrrha. "I was starting to think something was wrong with you. You're being too nice to everyone. Nice to see I was wrong."

"Thank you, I got used to being nice." Pyrrha said thankful that she made the decision to come to Beacon.

"Still you need to be a bitch. I know you know how." Yang added making her team gasp along with JNPR.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled embarrassed that her sister would tell her friend something like that.

"I'm not saying be a bitch all the time. Just occasionally. Mix the two, little bit of the bitch in the nice. Little nice in the bitch." Yang explained making Pyrrha laugh.

"I'll work on that." Pyrrha said wiping a tear away that came from laughing. "Thank you."

"Anytime, P-money." Yang told her before focusing back on the screen.

**Inside the shuttle located on the underside of the ship, Ozpin is listening to classic music.**

"_**Where's Ozpin?"**_** Jane asked over the radio.**

"_**In the shuttle." **_**Bart replied.**

**Ozpin is relaxing and enjoying the music that is playing over the speakers when a beep silenced the music. Sighing in frustration, Ozpin flicked the radio switch. "Ozpin."**

"_**I think you should have a look at Kane." **_**Bart said over the radio.**

"**Why?"**

"_**Something's happened."**_

"**Serious?"**

"_**Interesting."**_

**Ozpin thinks for a minute then turns off the music before hitting the intercom switch. "Arc, meet me in the infirmary right away."**

"What do you think happened?" Weiss asked her team and also JNPR for their thoughts.

"Maybe we can watch and found out." Blake said glancing at Weiss then back to the screen.

**Inside the medical bay the organism that is attached to Kane is no longer attached. Kane is lying on the medical bed looking asleep.**

"**Where is it?" Jane asked looking through the viewing window on the door.**

"**Well, I don't know. I mean we ought to try and find it." Bart suggested.**

"**Yeah, let's check it." Ozpin said not liking the idea of whatever was attached to Kane running around the ship.**

**Opening the door to the medical bay Ozpin, Jane, and Bart entered slowly, making sure to check the vents on the ceiling before going deeper into room. "Ozpin, please be careful." Jane said as Ozpin slowly approached Kane.**

**Ozpin checked Kane's pulse to make sure he's alive, satisfied Ozpin continued the search for the missing organism.**

**Jane looked under the bed when a loud crash startled her.**

"God!" Sun yelled after getting scared just by the sound. Everyone felt the same since they also jumped in their seats.

"The silence doesn't help." Neptune said agreeing with Sun.

"It does make everything unsettling." Weiss said looking at the screen.

"**Sorry." Ozpin said holding a light rod to check the corners and dark places.**

**Bart sealed the door in case it tried to escape that way. Ozpin searched his corner of the room, making sure to check every place wide enough for the organism to hide in. Jane checked another spot, standing on her toes to better see.**

"**No, not in the corner." Bart said when he saw her looking into a dark corner. "Psst. Have one of these." He told her holding up with light stick for her to see. "Just in case."**

**Jane decided not to risk it and went to check on Kane. Bart went to another corner and poked his light stick the corner.**

**Jane leaned over Kane. She didn't see a tail drop from the ceiling behind her.**

"No! Stay away from her." Nora shouted pointing a finger at the screen. "Turn around!"

Emilia grabbed Leon's hand for comfort worried that the face hugger would make Jane the next victim.

"**Kane? Ozpin?" Jane said turning and felt something land on her shoulder. Screaming she grabbed the organism and held it in her hand briefly before tossing it away from her as she fell to the ground and backed away. Bart and Ozpin rushed over, Ozpin shielded her in case it tried anything.**

"**You okay?" Ozpin asked and Jane nodded.**

"**I didn't see it. Was it in the overhead?" Bart asked kneeling next to the organism. The organism's fingers were curled inward similar to a spider's when it dies.**

"**What? It was up there somewhere."**

"**My god." Bart said looking at the dead specimen.**

"**Cover up the damn thing!" Ozpin ordered worried that it might still be alive.**

"**Wait." Bart said while poking it with the end of the light stick. The organism twitched making Ozpin and Jane back away.**

"**That's alive!"**

"**That's a reflex action." Bart told them. "Well, we've gotta have a look at this."**

"They should kill it with fire." Nora said relieved that the creature is dead. 'Or blast into space."

"There is still much they can learn from a corpse." Bart said. "For instance they could see what it did to Kane?"

"Agree to disagree." Nora said with a shrug of her shoulders.

**Bart put the dead organism on a tray and set it on his desk and turned on the overhead lights to better see. Ozpin and Jane are on either side of him both interested and wary of the organism. Various small organs can be seen once the organism is turned on it's back, still wet with moisture.**

**Bart grabs a medical instrument and lifts a flap of flesh before letting it drop. "Excuse me." Bart says reaching across Jane to grab another instrument. "Seems dead enough." He tells them after lifting up the flap of flesh and poking under it.**

"**Well, good. Let's get rid of it." Jane said making Bart sigh.**

"**Arc, for God's sake, this is the first time that we've encountered a species like this." Bart said as he continued his examination. "It has to go back. All sorts of tests have to be made."**

"**Bart, are you kidding? This thing bled acid. Who knows what it's gonna do when it's dead."**

"**I think it's safe to assume it isn't a zombie." Bart said before looking to Ozpin. "Ozpin, it has to go back."**

"**well, I'd soon… as not burn it at the stake, but you're the science officer." Ozpin said looking briefly to Bart then back to the organism. "It's your decision, Bart." He said before leaving.**

"**Ozpin." Jane said surprised that he would leave the decision to Bart.**

"I agree. Why would that decision be left with Bart?" Qrow said before looking to the green haired Professor. "No offense."

"None taken. It could be that since I'm the science officer. The decision lies with me." Bart said finishing his notes and put the notebook away before taking a quick sip of coffee.

"Its similar to when the local militia of a village will defer to the opinions of a hunter." Leon said. "They have more experience in their field."

"**How come I've got to change my mind? The decision's been made." Ozpin said walking down a corridor with Jane following him.**

"**I'm not trying to change your mind, Ozpin. I just want you to listen- Will you listen-" Jane said and continued to be ignored. Jane pressed the bulkhead door button and the bulkhead lowered, cutting off Ozpin's path. Ozpin groaned and turned to face Jane.**

"**Just tell me how you can leave that kind of decision to him." Jane asked curious to hear his answer.**

"**Look, I just run the ship." Ozpin yelled raising his arms in frustration. "Anything that has to do with the science division, Bart has the final word." He said pointing his finger to Jane.**

"**How does that happen?"**

"**It happens, my dear, because that's what the company wants to happen." Ozpin told her while stepping in her direction.**

"**Since when is that standard procedure?"**

**Ozpin stepped closer to Jane. "Standard procedure is to do what the hell they tell you to do." He said to her. "What's happening with the repairs? How's it going?" **

"SDC practice in a nutshell." Sienna said having read reports on their procedures from her spies that infiltrated mining camps.

"A practice I intend to change." Weiss whispered to herself though Blake heard and wished her luck in her endeavor.

"Same could be said for the military." Emilia said and Witner agreed.

"**They're pretty much finished now." Jane told him.**

"**Why the hell didn't you tell me so?"**

"**Because there's still some things left to do." Jane said placing her hands on her hips.**

"**Like what?" Ozpin asked interested.**

"**Well, we're blind on "B" and "C" decks." Jane began listing off the things left to do. "The reserve power system's blown-"**

"**That's a bunch of horseshit." Ozpin said turning around and resuming his walk. "We can take off without that."**

"**Yeah, we can. You think that's a good idea?"**

"**Look, I just wanna get the hell out of here, all right?" Ozpin told her as he walked away.**

"Can't blame him. This planet has bad written everywhere." Tai said grabing a hadnful of popcorn from the bowl in Summer's lap.

"I agree, this planet is creepy even without that alien ship." Summer said handing the popcorn bowl to Qrow so he can eat some.

"Some places should be left alone." Ozpin said cryptically.

"Unfortunatly there will be people who don't listen." Ghira said speaking from experience.

**The ship's engines activated and it slowly lifted off the ground kicking up dust and small rocks.**

* * *

"**Dust in the intakes again. Number two's overheating." Qrow said shaking in his seat from the turbulence.**

"**Spit on it for two minutes would you, for Christ sake?" Tai said checking the monitors.**

* * *

"**We're hot. We're getting hotter." Jane said watching the monitors. "Engine room, red clip status?"**

"**One kilometer on ascension." Amber said.**

"**Engage artificial gravity."**

"**Engaged.**

"**I'm altering the vector now."**

"**Inhibit C.N.G. control." Ozpin said watching the screens for any problems.**

"**Struts retract." **

"_**Struts retracted."**_** Parker said over the radio.**

* * *

**The ship slowly ascended.**

"_**Max stress to fifth overload."**_

"_**Ease it back. She's great. Beautiful."**_

**Soon the ship left the planet and flew back to the main body of Nostromo.**

* * *

"**Walk in the park. When we fix something, we stay fixed." Tai said with a smile. "Don't we, Qrow baby?" **

"**Right."**

**Everyone on the bridge smiled and laughed at the two.**

**Soon the Nostromo is complete and resumes its journey back to Earth.**

"At least they are off the planet." Ruby said excited that the crew is off the planet and back in space.

"I do wonder what's going to happen to Kane." Jaune said while wondering what's going happen to Kane.

"Maybe they'll put him in stasis until they get back to Earth." Pyrrha said thinking back to what Tai suggested about freezing Kane.

**Inside the dining area everyone is relaxed after finally leaving the planet behind. Jane is drinking some coffee while Qrow rolls a cigarette.**

"**What I think we should do is just freeze him." Tai said from his spot across Jane. "I mean, if he's got a disease, why don't we stop it where it is." He said scrapping some crumbs out of a Tupperware container. Ozpin sat next to him listening. **

"**He can always get to a doctor when we get back home."**

"I agree." James said and all of the adults in the room agreed. "Better to halt it's progression in stasis than risking the rest of the crew.

"And besides the medical facility will be more advanced than those on ships." Willow said. "Hopefully they can save him from whatever that thing did to him."

Winter and Weiss looked at their mother surprised that she is worried about someone. All the time they knew her, she was always drinking wine and never had time for them. It was surprising to see her sober and worried.

"Then they have to explain why they broke quaratine procedure to the authorities." Leon said sipping some water.

"**Right." Qrow said rolling another cigarette.**

**Jane turned to look at Qrow. "Whenever he says anything, you say "right", Qrow. You know that?"**

"**Right."**

**Jane sighed before looking at Tai. "Tai, what do you think? Your staff just follows you around, says "right"." She said with a shake of her head. "Just like a regular parrot."**

"**Yeah. Shape up." Tai said before chuckling. "What are you, some kind of parrot?"**

"**Right." **

"Polly want a cracker." Penny said with a smile holding a cracker out to Qrow. "I believe that is what you say to a parrot."

"Where did you learn that?" Ruby asked trying to hold in her laughter at the sight of Qrow dumbfounded.

"I read that parrots like crackers." Penny responded before retracting the cracker. "Was I wrong? I do believe this situation is meant to be funny."

Ruby laughed with Yang and everyone chuckled. Even Qrow, after all its not often that someone offers him a cracker and thinks he's a parrot.

"**Come on. Knock it off!" Ozpin said getting out of his seat and passing Tai. "Kane's gonna have to go into quarantine. That's it."**

"**Yes, and so will we." Jane said watching Ozpin as he stood next to Amber who held a clipboard.**

"**Well, how about a little something to lower your spirits?" Amber asked sounding down.**

"**Thrill me, will you, please?" Ozpin said crossing his arms.**

"**Well, according to my calculations, based on time spent getting to and from the planet-"**

"**Just give me the short version." Ozpin said placing a hand under his chin. "How far to Earth?"**

"**Ten months." She said making everyone groan at the news.**

"**Oh, God."**

"**Great."**

**The intercom buzzer went off. "Yes." Jane asked answering the buzzer.**

"_**Ozpin, I think you should come and see Kane."**_** Bart said over the intercom.**

"**Has his condition changed?" Ozpin asked.**

"_**It's simpler of you'd just come and see him." **_

"**We're on our way." Jane said getting out of her seat and following Ozpin to the medical bay.**

**Qrow stuck a cigarette in his mouth and followed the group. "Right."**

"You really are like a parrot." Summer said to Qrow making him grumble something that she couldn't hear. "Want a cracker to cheer you up?" She said while holding out a cracker to him.

"Qrow want a cracker?" Tai said joining his wife in holding out a cracker to Qrow.

Qrow wasn't one to say no to free food so he took the crackers knowing that they are teasing him. After all what friends don't tease each other.

**Inside the medical bay Kane is awake and sitting up, he rubs the side of his neck while the crew laugh in relief at the sight of him alive and well.**

"He's awake." Kali said surprised. "I guess whatever the creature did to him wasn't severe."

"They still should keep an eye on him just in case something does happen." James said with an eye on Kane. "We still dont know that that thing did to him. It could have given him a virus or something."

"He's fine and breathing. Plus Bart is there so he must have given him the ok." Leon said looking at James.

"Still, they don't know the alien is capbale of."

"Paranoid, much?" Qrow asked looking at the General. "You need to relax, Jimmy."

"And you need to cut back on drinking." James retorted.

"**How are you doing?" Amber asked. Tai handed Kane a cup of water which he accepted after a cough.**

"**Thank you."**

"**How you doin'?" Tai asked standing to the side.**

"**Um, terrific. Next silly question." Kane said making everyone laugh before drinking the water. Bart approached and handed him another cup. "Oh, thank you."**

"**Do you remember anything about the planet?" Ozpin asked approaching Kane's bed. Kane stops mid drink and shakes his head.**

"**What's the thing you do remember?" Jane asked as Kane finished drinking the water and thought for minute.**

"**I remember some… horrible dream about… smothering." Kane said making everyone look at him with concern. "And- Anyway, where are we?" He asked changing the subject not wanting to recall the dream.**

"A dream about smothering…" Ozpin whispered.

"Ozpin?" Glynda said looking at him concerned.

"I'm fine, just thinking." Ozpin reassured her and took a sip of coffee before ordering another refill. Glynda looked at him concered before watching the screen agian.

"**Right here." Ozpin simply said.**

"**We're on our way home." Jane added leaning on the bed.**

"**Yeah, back to the old freezerinos." Qrow said with a chuckle and everyone smiled at the joke and the atmosphere changed to a livelier one.**

"**Could I have something to eat before we go back?" Kane said.**

"**I- I need something myself." Tai agreed with a laugh.**

**Ozpin chuckled. "Yeah, right. One more meal before bedtime, I'm buyin'." He said holding out his arms to everyone.**

"**Hey, that's a break."**

"I agree, you never pay the check." James said looking over his shoulder at Ozpin. "Nor do you offer to buy the food."

Ozpin simply lifted his coffee mug to his lips and continued to watch the screen.

"You owe me 150 lien." James told the headmaster who didn't answer.

**The crew sat around the table in the dining hall eating a meal and talking amongst themselves. they know that this will be there last supper before going back to stasis. Kane dishes up a large helping of spaghetti.**

**Bart looks at Kane with interest when he goes for another helping of spaghetti.**

"Kane must really be hungry." Yang said raising an eyebrow at his plate and the ever growing spaghetti on his plate. "Reminds me of Ruby when she discovered chocolate chip cookies."

"I was never that bad." Ruby said defending herself. It wasn't her fault that they tasted so good. "Ish." She said after seeing her team and JNPR look at her with "really" looks on their face.

"Suddenly I see Nora with pancakes." Jaune said with a smile.

"It's not my fault they taste so good." Nora said defending her favorite food.

"**The first thing that I'm gonna do when I get back." Kane said putting the tongs back in the bowl. "Is to get some decent food."**

"**I can dig it man. Let me tell you, I've eaten worse food than this." Tai said from his spot next to Kane. "But then I've tasted better, you know what I'm sayin'?"**

"**Well, you pound down the stuff like there's no tomorrow." Amber told Tai holding a cigarette between her fingers.**

**Tai looked in Amber's direction. "I'd rather be eatin' something else, but, uh, right now I'm thinkin' food." He said holding up his spoon to show her. Amber scoffed and looked away taking a puff of her cigarette.**

"**Well, you should know. You know what's it's made of." Kane told Tai before laughing.**

"**No, man, I don't wanna talk about what it's made of." Tai said with a smile. Kane stopped eating and started gagging. "I'm eatin' this just to-"**

**Everyone stopped eating and looked at Kane who began coughing and gagging.**

"Is he choking?" Saphron asked looking at the screen. Kane showed the signs of choking but something felt off.

"Maybe he ate too fast." Jaune suggested.

"This doesn't seem like it." Ren said eyeing Kane feeling something bad is about to happen.

"**What's the matter?" Tai asked thinking it's a normal reaction. "The food ain't that bad."**

"**What's wrong, Kane?" Ozpin asked when Kane started retching and gagging.**

"**Are you choking?"**

"**What's wrong?" Tai asked as Kane continued gagging and got out of his seat. Ozpin hit Kane's back in an attempt to dislodge whatever he's chocking on. Bart watched the scene unfold with interest.**

"isn't he the medical officer? Shouldn't he do something?" Glynda said wondering why Bart isn't doing anything.

"He reminds me of a scientist watching his experiment." James said recalling the same look in Dr. Polendia whenever he came to visit the scientist.

"It could be that he doesn't think the situation is serious." Port said also wondering why Bart doesn't act.

Ruby once again played with the end of her cape as she watched the situation unfold. "I don't like this."

**Kane stood and everyone got up as well, Tai and Ozpin held Kane's arms as his gagging intensified.**

"**This is serious." Bart said getting up to help.**

"**Kane, what's the matter?" Ozpin asked laying Kane on the table. Kane started thrashing and spasming on the table along with gasping for breath.**

"**It's okay!" Tai told Kane while holding his limbs in place so he wouldn't hurt anyone. **

"This isn't a choking situation." Coco said narrowing her eyes. "It looks like he's in pain."

"What did that thing do to him?" Sun yelled looking at the screen. He looked around the theater and saw that everyone is tense. _'They can feel it too. Something bad is about to happen.'_

**Kane stuck his tongue out and Bart tried to insert a spoon between his teeth so he wouldn't bite his tongue off. Tai took the spoon from Bart and tried to get in place.**

"**Hold him down!" Ozpin yelled while struggling to keeps Kane's arms from hitting anyone. "Hold him-"**

"**Get the spoon in!" Bart yelled helping Ozpin.**

"**Damn it!" Tai yelled letting go of Kane's arms and grabbing his face to get the spoon in.**

"**Get it into his mouth!"**

"**I'm trying!"**

**Kane began screaming.**

Ruby covered her ears trying to block out the pained screams but failed. Yang held her sister also feeling disturbed by Kane's screams, it was the sound of a man in extreme pain.

Weiss looked away taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. Blake held herself hoping to not such screams again.

Ren closed his eyes and breathing hard as the screams triggered memories of his village being destroyed by the Nuckelavee. Nora hugged Ren for comfort also relieving the same memories.

Pyrrha held Jaune's arm tightly as the screams filled the theater.

Leon closed his eyes as memories flashed behind his eyes of Mt. Glenn and everything that transpired there. Emilia held his hand to provide comfort knowing that he's trying not to relieve the horrifying moments again.

Everyone in the theater is put off by Kane's anguished screams.

**Tai couldn't get the spoon and Kane arched his back as his chest erupted blood staining his white shirt red. Amber screamed and let go of his legs.**

**Everyone looked at Kane in shock but shook it off when his thrashing intensified. Ozpin and Tai wrestled his arms down as Kane struggled in blood curdling grunts.**

Ruby uncovered her ears and hugged her older sister, she wanted to look away from the screen but couldn't out.

"Wh-" Sun said trying to comprehend what is happening.

**Something came partially out of Kane's chest making everyone let go of him and back away. The creature burst out of Kane's chest in a bloody fashion, blood flew everywhere and some landed on Amber's face making her recoil with fear.**

"**Oh, my God! Oh, God!" Amber said with fear.**

"What the fuck!" Weiss shouted surprising her sister, mother, and her team.

"Ahh!" Ruby screamed before she buried her face into Yang's chest trying to forget what she saw. After seeing the Predator 'verse she didn't lose her lunch but it still unsettled her to see such a gory scene.

"That is fucked up." Sun said looking at the sight on the screen.

"Is that what happened to the alien on LV-426?" Velvet said covering her mouth.

"Looks that way, Vel." Coco said horrified at what just happened. "That is fucked up."

"You said it." Jaune said looking pale but thankfully he didn't lose his lunch.

Nora gagged a little from the sight. "Somehow that is worse than what the Predator did to Cardin."

Everyone agrred with Nora. With the Predator they only saw the aftermath, but here they saw the alien just burst out of someone. Thankfully no one lost their lunch.

Raven looked away from the screen. It isn't the first time she saw a man die, but too see someone die in that fashion unnerved her.

**The creature is small and covered in blood as it growled and hissed at the crew. A tail could be seen coming out of the wound, small silver fangs lined the mouth. No eyes is visible on the creature as it rose out of the wound it made on Kane's chest. The skin color is a light beige similar to the organism that was attached to Kane. **

**Kane's body continued to twitch from the violent end that came from the creature erupting out of his chest. The creature looked around the room.**

**Tai acted first and grabbed a knife ready to stab whatever the creature it. Ozpin held him back wary of what the creature is capable of.**

"**No!" Bart yelled holding out his hand stopping Tai. "Don't touch it! Don't touch it!"**

**The veins on the side of the creature pulsed before it screeched at the crew and climbed out of Kane's body and ran across the table away from the crew. **

**Everyone is shocked by what they'd just saw. Bart looked in the direction the creature ran off in.**

"Ruby, it's ok." Yang said trying to coax her sister out of her chest. "It's ok, its over."

Ruby let go of her sister after she removed her head from Yang's chest. She still played with the ends of her cape for comfort.

"Now we know the face huggers true purpose." Bart said writing in his notebook again. "They for the lack of a better word impregnate other species. After a short incubation period the creature is "born"."

"Guess the same thing happened to the alien in the spaceship." Ilia said remembering the bent outwards bones of the alien. "That would explain the crashed ship."

**One on of the decks Qrow and Ozpin are searching for the creature. "Ozpin?" Qrow yells, his voice echoing through the corridors.**

"**Yeah." **

"**Anything?"**

"**No. you?"**

"**Nothing."**

"**You see anything?" Ozpin asked after checking the vents.**

"**No."**

"I think they won't find the alien right away." Velvet said after recovering from the traumatic scene. "There are plenty of hiding places for it to hide and the ship is large to properly search."

"Regardless they still need to search for it. Who knows what it can do." Coco told her partner.

"I imagine they also want some payback for killing their friend." Qrow said having experienced the same feeling after Summer's death.

"Only if they can catch it." Tai said looking at his friend.

"Shouldn't be too hard." Yang said looking at the screen. "I mean it small and can't put much of a fight."

"Even a cornered rat with bite when provoked." Ren said with a sage like voice.

**On the bridge everyone is around Ozpin looking at the screen with Kane's body in a body bag. "Inner hatch sealed." Ozpin said looking at the screen. "Anybody wanna say anything?" When no one does Ozpin presses a button opening the outer airlock doors.**

**Kane's body is launched into the vacuum of space leaving behind the Nostromo and her crew as it flies through space.**

"Similar to burial at sea." James said remembering the stories his father told him during his time as a sea captain.

"In a way space is similar to the sea." Ghira said. "Both are endless and often lonely. No one but yourself and the crew."

"I hate the ocean." Neptune said crossing his arms and trying not to think of the time he almost drowned as a child.

"Luckily there is no water in space." Sun told his friend.

**In a room on the Engineering deck there is an assortment of items laid out on the table. "This is just an ordinary prod, like a cattle prod." Qrow said picking up the prod to show everyone.**

"**It's got a portable battery." Qrow explains as everyone listened. "It's insulated all the way here, all the way up to here." He said pointing to the tip, making sure to not touch it. "Just make damn sure nobody puts their hand on the end of it." Qrow touches the ceiling with the tip of the prod and a spark could be seen as it touches the metal.**

"**It shouldn't damage the little bastard." Qrow said setting the prod down carefully. "Unless its skin's thinner than ours. But it will give him a little incentive."**

"They also need to worry about the acid blood." Penny spoke up. "If the skin is thinner then there is a chance the prod will puncture it and the acid blood will spill out."

"How are they going to catch it. With their bare hands?" Nora asked ordering some pancakes for comfort.

"They are probably in the midst of discussing their plan." Ozpin told them quieting them.

"**Now we just have to find it." Amber said wearing a fresh pair of clothes.**

"**I've taken care of that." Bart said reaching for something on the ground and bringing it up for everyone to see. "I've designed this tracking device." The device has a long tube connected to a box with handles for easier carrying along with a screen. "You just set it to search for a moving object, like so." He said turning the device on.**

"**It hasn't got much of a range, but when you get within a certain distance, it'll start to give off a signal."**

"**What's it key on?" Jane asked.**

**Bart sighed before answering. "Micro changes in air density."**

"**Give me a demo." Ozpin said grabbing the device and holding it out in front of him. Bart waved his hand in front of the device and it gave off a whirring sound.**

"**See?" **

"**Again." Ozpin said just to make sure and Bart waved his hand again. "Got ya." He said putting the device down. "Two teams. Bart, Amber and I. Arc, you take Tai and Qrow." He said and everyone looked at him. "Now, anyone sees this thing, you catch it in the net that Tai's holding on his lap.**

"**Tai, I don't want any heroics out of you, all right?" Ozpin said looking directly at Tai. "Catch it, put it in the air lock, get rid of it. Now channels are open on all decks. I want you to communicate, keep in touch at all times, all right?" He said looking to everyone.**

"**Let's go."**

"Let's hope they can find it before it kills anyone else." Yang said leaning back in her seat. "Then again, it is small so I doubt it can do much too them."

"It can still chew the wires and such." Blake told her.

"Regardless it still needs to be caught." Weiss said to both of them.

**On the cargo deck Jane led the through the dark corridor since the power is out. "I thought you fixed 12 module." Jane said turning on the flashlight and holding it with one and the tracker in the other.**

"**We did." Qrow said holding the prod towards the floor so no one would get accidentally shocked. "I don't understand it."**

"**The circuits must have burned out." Tai said when they reached the junction. Setting the net down, Tai pulled out his tool kit and opened a panel on wall. Jane passed the light to Qrow as she checked the corridors with the tracker.**

"**What do we got here?" Qrow asked checking on Tai.**

"**Damn it! Hold your light over here, would you?" Tai said struggling to see what's he's doing in the dark. Qrow shined the light on the panel. "Yeah, that's it. I don't know if this is going to work." **

**Jane slowly moved into a room with the tracker making to keep in visual range of Tai and Qrow.**

"Think the alien did that?" Neptune asked Sun. "Chewed the wires to the lights would go out."

"It's possible." Sun replied watching the screen once again unnerved by the silence.

"**If I could just put this- put this in there."**

"**Right."**

"**Oh, damn it." Tai said receiving a small shock after **

**Not seeing anything on the tracker, Jane went back to the others.**

"**Check the insulation." Qrow suggested.**

"**Oh, shit." Tai said to himself and managed to get the lights back on. He put his tools away and grabbed the net just as the tracker whirred as it picked up a signal.**

"They found it." Jaune said." Now, if they can capture it."

"They can blow out the airlock." Yang said adding with a smile. "Now to catch the little bastard. Should be easy for them since they have a net."

"Underestimating your foe can have dire results." Leon told the blonde brawler. "Until you know otherwise. Always assume they have the upper hand, that way you don't get caught off guard."

Yang thought back to the screen that showed her getting her right arm cut off because she charged in like an idiot. Then again she did see Blake wounded on the ground and Adam standing over her with his sword ready to strike. She really needs to work on her sense of control to something similar won't happen to her in the future.

**Jane followed the signal to a bulkhead that lead to another room. Tai stood next to the bulkhead while Tai readied the net.**

"**Steady." Jane said looking at the screen on the tracking device. "According to this, it's within five meters." **

**Qrow opened the bulkhead door and the trio slowly entered with Jane taking lead.**

"**Micro changes in air density, my ass." Jane said as the tracker began beeping. "It's within five meters."**

"**Be careful." Tai told her as they slowly walked further into the room. Mining EVA suits hung from the ceilings and various cargo containers are scattered around the room.**

"**Christ." Jane said feeling unsettled by the room.**

"**Don't do that. Don't creep up on me with that thing." Tai whispered to Qrow who is behind him and holding the prod.**

No one said anything as they watched. Some tensed ready for anything to happen.

"**You guys, stick together." Jane said moving the tracker around the room, Tai checked a corner looking over the containers, while Qrow stood off to the side with the prod ready to go. Jane looked at the tracker and saw that the screen is malfunctioning and the whirring stopped.**

"**Don't fail me now." Jane said shaking the tracker trying to get it working again.**

"**What?" Tai asked looking to Jane. "What is it?"**

**Jane got the tracker working again the whirring picked up along with the beeping. "Tai, Qrow, it's in this locker." She said aiming her flashlight at a locker.**

"**Where?" Tai asked as Jane set the light down.**

"**Here take this." Qrow said handing Jane the prod.**

"**Get over there and get the net." Jane whispered taking the prod. Tai moved past her and handed one end of the net to Qrow.**

"**Get it?" Tai asked looking to Qrow.**

"**I got it. I got it. I got it." Qrow said holding the net.**

Yang mentally prepared herself for another scare and looked to Ruby who is trying her best to appear calm and failing. This brought a small smile to Yang since she knew that her sister never handled horror that well after she watched "Nightmare on Vale Street" with Yang during Halloween.

She still remembers her father punishing her for scaring Ruby and for showing her the film despite her being so young. She didn't get it at the time since Summer first showed her the film when she was Ruby's age. Actually come to think of it, Summer showed her a lot of films that wouldn't be appropriate for a child.

"**Wait a minute. Wait a minute." Jane said setting the tracker down and holding the prod with both hands. The trio approached the locker. "All right, Tai. When I say."**

**Tai slowly reached for the locker while still holding the net.**

Weiss clenched her fists to hide how nervous she felt. Like Yang she prepared herself for another jump scare.

Blake thought about messing with Weiss by placing her fingers on her shoulder and moving them to simulate a spider on her back. But she decided not too since she's worried that Weiss might try and slap her in retaliation.

Pyrrha gripped the chair handles tighter.

"**All right. Now." Jane said holding the prod at the ready.**

"**Easy." Qrow told his friend as he grabbed the locker latch and quickly opened the locker. **

**Inside the locker is Jonesy, the orange tabby who hissed at them and ran out of the locker.**

"Stupid cat." Nora yelled jumping in her seat before looking at Blake. "No offense."

"None taken." Blake told her knowing that she is talking about the animal and not the Faunus. Still a small part of her felt hurt at the accusation at Jonesy, the cat. It wasn't his fault he got picked up by the tracker.

"This is why I prefer dogs, they don't hide and scare you when they get bored." Ruby grumbled crossing her arms.

"Not all cats are bad, Ruby. Look at Blake." Yang said pointing a thumb in Blake's direction.

"Har, har." Blake said crossing her arms under her chest.

"Do you have a hairball?" Yang asked with a straight face and Blake flipped her off.

"I like cats." Sun said earning a look from both Blake and Yang.

"That explains it." Yang said referring to his crush on Blake.

"No, really I do." Sun told them. "I visit an animal shelter and play with the cats so they don't get lonely. They really like playing with my tail."

"It's true." Neptune said backing his friend up and also joining him whenever he visits the shelter. Those puppy eyes could melt any cold heart.

**Qrow dropped his end of the net and Jane set the prod down. "Wait! Don't let him go!" She yelled at the two men but was too late since Jonesy ran out of the room.**

"**What the hell are you doing, man?" Tai yelled at Qrow for dropping the net and letting Jonesy escape.**

"Now they have to catch him." Jaune said. "Otherwise they might pick it up on the tracker again."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Ruby said confidently.

"Have you ever tried to catch a cat that doesn't want to be caught?" Saphron asked with a small smile and Ruby didn't answer since she's more familiar with dogs than cats. "They can be quick and hide for minutes or hours."

"It's true, we couldn't find Blake for almost a day." Yang said with a wide grin.

"I am not a cat." Blake hissed growing tired of Yang and her cat jokes.

"Likes fish, playing with boxes, and follows a laser pointer." Yang said listing off the things that she noticed in the past year. "That sounds like a cat."

"Blake, are you a walking stereotype?" Kali asked wondering where her habits came from. Certainly not from her. It's not uncommon for Faunus to develop some habits, usually it's one. But three? That's unheard of.

Blake didn't answer her mother and focused on the screen. Kali narrowed her eyes at her daughter.

"**It's the cat." Qrow simply said making Jane sigh and Tai laugh.**

"**Hey, look, now. We had to bag it, man." Tai told Qrow while Jane looked in the direction that Jonesy ran. "Now we might pick it up on the tracker again."**

"**I'll- I'll- I'll- " Qrow stuttered.**

"**Go and get it, man."**

"**All right. You get him. We'll go on." Jane told Qrow before he left the search for the cat. Jane sighed as she picked up the prod and the tracker, Tai scoffed picking up the net.**

* * *

**Qrow searches for Jonesy in the general direction he saw the cat run. "Here, kitty!" He said in a high pitched voice. "Here, kitty, kitty!" Qrow stopped in front of an open bulkhead. "Enough of that kitty crap."**

"**Jones." Qrow said in his normal voice. "Jonesy?" Qrow entered the cargo room. "Here, Jonesy." Not getting a response Qrow decided to meow and he is rewarded with the sound of Jonesy meowing coming from further in the room.**

"**Jonesy?" Qrow walked around the containers on the ground as he progressed further in to the room. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."**

"Why did they separate?" Weiss asked confused by their actions. "Shouldn't they stick together?"

"They probably figure since he let the cat go, he should be the one to find it." Leon said.

"Won't that get them killed?" Weiss asked again referring to the splitting up. "I mean in this situation wouldn't it be better if they search for Jonesy together."

"Yeah, but not everyone can think clearly in a stressful situation." Yang told her.

"**Here, Jonesy." Qrow said again stopping in his tracks to look up in the rafters. "Jonesy?' **

**Jonesy meows can be heard faintly in the background getting Qrow's attention. Qrow looked to his right and moved towards some mining equipment. "Here, kitty, kitty." He said slowly approaching the equipment.**

**Looking between the gaps in the equipment Qrow sees Jonesy yelping as a wire burst spraying water on the cat. Jonesy tumbled out from the engine and jumped out of the mining equipment, Qrow tried to grab the cat but couldn't since Jonesy leaped over some containers and entered another room through the open doors. **

**Qrow cursed to himself and turned to walk around the containers but stopped when something caught his eye on the floor grating. Picking up the material in question with his thumb and index finger, Qrow got a better look at the material and saw that it's almost like skin. The color is the same as the alien that killed Kane when it burst out of his chest.**

**Qrow looked at the skin in disgust before realizing something and dropping the skin before quickly going after Jonesy.**

"Like a snake. It shed its skin." Bart said interested. "Sign of growth?" He mumbled away. Meanwhile Sun grimaced after seeing the shed skin, he hated snakes with a passion.

"Guess it's no longer small." Blake said.

"I wonder what it looks like now." Nora pondered trying to imagine what the small alien could have morphed into.

**Inside the mineral processing room, chains hung from the ceiling and clinking as they hit each other from swaying side to side. In the center of the room is where the raw mineral is broken down with the help of machines. Water dripped from the ceiling thanks to the coolant pipes that helped regulate temperature.**

**Qrow entered the room and adjusted his hat as he continued his search for Jonesy ." Kitty, kitty, kitty." He said again looking for the cat. "Here, Jonesy. Jonesy."**

**Qrow walked under the water droplets and took off his hat, letting the water hit his face and closed his eyes so the water wouldn't get in.**

**Above him the chains continue to clink and sway, some raw minerals still hung from the chains waiting to be processed.**

**Qrow shook his head and ran a hand through his hair before putting back on his hat and resuming his search for Jonesy. "Kitty, kitty, kitty." Walking to another section of the room, Qrow found Jonesy hiding behind some crates peeking out.**

"**Hey. Hey. Come on, Jonesy." Qrow said leaning down to better see the cat, he smiles to put the cat at ease as he slowly reaches for it. "Come one, baby. That's a kitty." Jonesy slowly came out of his hiding place and approached Qrow but backed away when something moved behind Qrow.**

"Look behind you!" Ruby shouted at the screen trying to warn her uncle. "It's behind you."

"That almost looks like a tail." Ren said seeing how it moved and uncurled itself.

"It must have been hiding in the rafters." Tai said not wanting to see his friend die. Summer held both Tai and Qrow's hand for comfort, she hated seeing teammates and friends die.

Raven gripped the chair armrest tightly that the wood threatened to break. She may not have the best relationship with her brother but he's still family. Even if he is Ozpin's puppet.

**Jonesy hissed making Qrow back up. "Hey, hey. I'm not gonna hurt you." Qrow said standing up unaware that something silently dropped from the ceiling. "Come on."**

"Turn around! Turn around!" Yang shouted at the screen with Ruby.

"Run! Forget the cat." Ruby shouted and Blake's eye twitched. She had to remind herself that they are only worried about their uncle, but to abandon the cat? That was uncalled for since she knew for a fact that they would do anything for Zwei and risk life and limb for the little devil.

**Jonesy backed away snarling. Qrow grew confused since Jonesy is familiar with him, then it dawns on him that Jonesy wasn't hissing at him but something behind him. Turning around Qrow sees the creature that killed Kane now fully grown. **

"By the Brothers." Glynda said with a gasp upon seeing the alien fully grown. Truly it looked like something out of a nightmare.

Bart once again took out his notebook and quickly sketched out the fully grown alien.

"That's worse than the Predators." Yang said scared of the alien more than she was of the Predator. She shuddered to think about the alien being loose in the halls of Beacon.

Summer is glad that no such alien exists in their world line. She shuddered to think what would happen if Salem found a way to control them or worse if they spread out among the general populace.

**The creature has no eyes and has a smooth elongated skull, its body structure and limbs are thin. Four tubes protrude from its back and it was a long tail with bony ridges and a sharp curved blade on the end of the tail. Its skin is black with hints of grey and green when the light hits it at a certain angle.**

**The creature opens its mouth revealing humanlike teeth with two sharp fangs and a second smaller mouth that also has sharp fangs. Its lips quivering in anticipation as drool flows from the mouth as the second mouth opens and quickly shoots out stabbing Qrow in the head.**

"Qrow!" Tai and Summer shouted at the screen.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby and Yang shouted at the same time when they saw their uncle attacked by the alien.

Everyone is put off by how the alien attacks using its second mouth. They never saw anything like that before.

**Qrow screams as the creature knocks him down and grabs him before dragging him up towards the ceiling. **

**Tai and Jane quickly enter the room and see Qrow's hat covered in blood on the floor. "Qrow!" Jane shouts looking up trying to spot him.**

"**Qrow!" Tai cries out for his friend. Blood drops from the ceiling in droplets staining their clothes in it. Tai looks at the blood in his hands and drops the prod with the light. "Qrow!"**

**Looking at the ceiling is Jonesy, the light from the water reflecting off his fur.**

"Maybe it wants him alive." Weiss said trying to sound positive despite seeing the blood and wound inflicted by the alien.

"Maybe." Yang said unsure what to think at the moment.

Bart wanted to inform them that the alien may need to eat to support it's growth and needs. But a look from Ozpin prevented him from doing so.

**Tai and Jane met up with the others in the dining hall after telling them about Qrow. Tai takes his head out of his hands and looks at the others. "Whatever it was, it was- it was big and-"**

**Ozpin looks at Tai as he retells them about Qrow. "You're sure it took him into the air shaft?" He asks Jane looking to her.**

**Jane nodded. "Disappeared into one of the cooling ducts." She said pointing to the ducts on the ship's map.**

"**No question, it's- it's using the air ducts to move around." Tai said confirming what Jane told them.**

"It can also remain unseen." Blake said having the unpleasant experience of crawling through the air ducts. "They probably run the length of the ship too, multiple access points. It could come out anywhere on the ship."

"They could close junctions and force it in a direction they choose." Jaune said already thinking up a plan.

"Fearless leader already coming up with a plan." Nora said proudly making Jaune smile at her actions.

"**Could he want Qrow alive?" Amber asks Jane who is watching Ozpin go over the map of the ship. **

"**What?"**

"**Could Qrow be alive?" **

"**No. I mean, I don't think so." Jane honestly answered placing her hands on the table.**

"**Well, this air shaft may work to our advantage." Ozpin said looking at the map of the air ducts. "Here, it leads up to and comes out in the main air lock." He said pointing to the map as Bart looks at the map. **

"**All right. There's only one big opening along the way." Ozpin said pointing to the opening. "We can cover that up, and then we… drive it into the airlock and zap it into outer space."**

"Jaune called it." Nora said giving him a thumbs up making him chuckle.

"So they are going to force to the airlock." Ilia said thinking of the plan. "It wont be enough to just seal off sections of the vents. Someone need to be there to drive the alien to the airlock. Otherwise it might go another direction."

"I wonder who the lucky one is." Qrow pondered not wanting to be the one that crawls through the vents searching for the creepy alien.

"Lucky, right." Tai said sarcastically.

"**This son of a bitch is huge!" Tai said looking at Ozpin. "I mean, it's like a man. It's big!' **

**Amber smokes a cigarette with a shaky hand at the news.**

"She's starting to lose it." James said noticing the shaking in her hand and the frantic eye movements to the ceiling.

"Can't say I blame her." Tai said looking at James. "She lost two of her friends and right now they are planning something dangerous. She strikes me as the kind of person who doesn't handle stressful situation well."

"A far cry from the Amber I knew." Ozpin said thinking back to when he met the Fall Maiden that was scared of the power she now possessed. After explaining everything to her she chose not to accept his offer of protection and left on her own, figuring that she would be safer on the move rather than in one place. In the end she was a strong willed woman that fell because of one's person need for power.

"**Kane's son." Bart said drawing the attention of everyone.**

"**Come on, Bart. Science department should be able to help us." Jane said determined. "What can we do to drive it?"**

"**Yes, well, it's adapted remarkably well to our atmosphere, considering its nutritional requirements." Bart said looking to Jane then back to the map. "The only thing we don't know about is temperature."**

"**Okay. What about temperature?" Jane asked. "What happens if we change it?"**

"**Let's try it." Bart agreed. "I mean, most animals retreat from fire. Yes?" He asked Ozpin.**

"**Fire, yeah." Ozpin said looking to Bart then to Tai. "Tai, can you rig three or four incinerator units?"**

**Tai let out a deep breath. "Give me about 20 minutes. I'll do it."**

"**Who gets to go into the vent?" Amber asked putting out the cigarette.**

"Time to see." Sienna said slightly impressed at their plan.

"If only the Grimm retreated from fire." Ruby said thinking about the Grimm and how they don't fear fire.

"It would make life easier." Yang said agreeing with her sister since her Semblance causes her to generate heat and embers.

"**I do." Jane volunteered.**

"**No." Ozpin said getting a look from her. "You and Bart… take the main air lock. Tai, Amber, you cover up that maintenance opening, please."**

"**Right." Amber said with a sniff as everyone left to do their tasks. Jane looked at Ozpin for minute before leaving to join Bart.**

* * *

**Inside the main airlock the inner hatch is open and the alarms are going off. Jane and Bart are outside the airlock with the bulkhead sealed.**

* * *

**Meanwhile Tai and Amber are at the maintenance opening, Amber is holding the tracking device and calibrating it to track inside the vents while Tai is keeping watch with an incinerator ready to go.**

* * *

**Inside the vents Ozpin is crouch walking through the vents while carrying a flash light and an incinerator. "I'm at the first junction." He says over the radio.**

"That looks cramped." Ren said not a fan of tight spaces. "It must be hot in there with the flame on the end of the incinerator."

"I imagine it would be like being in a bullhead during Summer without air-conditioning." Penny said and the veteran hunters internally groaned remembering their time they experienced the situation that Penny described.

**Jane is outside the airlock looking through the viewing window. "Ozpin, I'm right here."**

* * *

"**Tai?" Ozpin asked crawling through the vents.**

"_**Yeah?"**_

"**Amber?"**

* * *

"**We're in position. I'm just trying to get a reading here." Amber said fiddling with the tracking device.**

* * *

"**The airlock is open." Jane says adjusting the headset.**

"_**Okay, Arc."**_

"**Ready?"**

"I hope their plan works." Pyrrha said hopeful that their plan works and the alien won't kill anymore of their crew.

"We'll just have to watch and see." Jaune told her and held her hand. Pyrrha smiled at him and moved her fingers so they interlocked with Jaune's.

"Finger's crossed." Nora said crossing her fingers.

**Inside the vents Ozpin closes the hatch behind him to make sure that the alien doesn't sneak up on him.**

* * *

"**All right. I've got a reading on you now." Amber says when the screen on the tracker displays a dot moving, a beeping sounds every time the dot moves.**

* * *

**Ozpin continues through the vents, the light from the end of the incinerator is casting a glow on his face. Soon he came upon a closed hatch, Ozpin put on the headset. "Uh, open the hatch to the third junction." The hatch opens and Ozpin continues onward slowly.**

* * *

**Jane listens to everything that is happening over the headset. **

"_**Okay, I'm through."**_

**Jane sighed in relief at the news.**

"_**Arc?"**_

"**Yes."**

"_**Close all the hatches behind me." **_**Ozpin told her and Jane couldn't believe what he told her. **_**"I'm moving on."**_** Jane sealed all the hatches behind Ozpin.**

"That's a double edged sword." Port said putting down his mug. "It prevents the alien from sneaking up on him. But it also cuts off his escape."

"Making him trapped along with the alien." Ren said getting a bad feeling as he watched Ozpin progess through the vents. He wasn't the only one as everyone felt the same. "Where is it now?"

**Ozpin climbs down a ladder heading to the lower levels.**

"_**Ozpin, hold it a minute. I think I got it." **_**Amber says over the headset when he reaches the bottom of the ladder.**

* * *

"**Yes, I've got it." Amber said looking at the screen. A second dot appeared and headed for the first dot which is stationary.**

"_**Where?"**_

* * *

"_**It's somewhere around the third junction." **_

**Ozpin looked in front of him then behind him.**

"**Okay, moving on." He said grabbing the light and pressing on. He made to another ladder with some pipes running parallel to him. **

"_**It is right around there. Now, Ozpin, you're gonna have to be careful."**_

**Ozpin set down his light and stood up aiming the incinerator down the ladder shaft and fired off two streams of flames hoping to scare off the creature. **

"**All right. I've reached… the third junction, and I'm going down."**

* * *

**Jane held a hand to the headset listening to everything while Bart looked uninterested as he watched the airlock.**

"What's his issue?" Nora asked seeing Bart's expression. "Ozpin is risking his life and he looks bored."

"That could be how he deals with the situation." Emilia said looking at Nora. "People deal with difficult situations differently. Some choose to crack jokes, lash out, and some close themselves off. So they can focus on the task at hand."

"She's right." Coco said from her spot. "Our first mission, Velvet here, cracked jokes from start to finish."

"Coco!" Velvet yelled embarrassed, she couldn't believe that she tell them something like that. "I told you I was nervous and jokes are my coping mechanism."

"So, like Yang then." Weiss said looking to the blonde brawler.

"You haven't seen my coping mechanism." Yang said smashing her fists together.

"And I hope I never have too." Weiss replied looking back to the screen.

**Ozpin slings the incinerator on his back and grabs the flashlight before climbing down the ladder.**

* * *

**Amber sees the dot representing Ozpin moving down on screen, the dot beeps every time it moves. Amber looks at the maintenance opening for a moment then back to the tracker. She smacked the side of the tracker hoping to get to wok better.**

**Tai looked at her in concern.**

* * *

**Ozpin got off the ladder when he reached another junction.**

* * *

**Tai went over to Amber and looked at the tracker screen. "The hell's the matter with that box?" He asked when she stopped hitting the side of it.**

"Oh, no." Nora said worried when the tracker began malfunctioning. "Why now, of all times?" She cried to the heavens.

"This is a good example of not placing your whole trust in technology." Leon said earning a childish glare from both Ruby and Penny. "I'm not saying don't trust technology. Just don't rely on them too much. Since they can jam or malfunction leaving you in a bind."

"Agree to disagree." Penny said cheerfully making James smile at her cheerfulness.

"**Ozpin, you're gonna have to hold your position for a minute. I-"**

* * *

"_**I've lost the signal." **_**Amber said over the headset while Ozpin closed a vent hatch.**

* * *

**Jane looked at the airlock shocked at what Amber said.**

"_**What? You sure?"**_

"I don't relish being in his position." Ozpin said after drinking his coffee.

"I agree." Qrow said not wanting to experience what its like to be stuck inside a narrow vent shaft chasing an alien. "I would prefer open combat."

"Still a Branwen at heart." Raven said with a sly smirk at her brother making him scoff.

"The tracker only shows their movements, not their location." Velvet muttered tapping her chin. "The alien could be above, lower, or in the same vent as Ozpin and there would be no way to tell." She said thinking back to the scene that showed the tracker screen and how it only showed a dot.

"It was probably thrown together in a matter of hours. So, a few defects are to be expected." Coco said.

**Ozpin placed his hand on the vent floor and felt something wet. Ozpin held his hand to the light to see clear liquid drop from his hand.**

* * *

"_**Checked it out, Amber. You may be getting interference." **_

**Jane looked fearful as to what's going on in the vents with Ozpin.**

* * *

"_**Ozpin, are you sure there's no sign of it?"**_** Amber said sounding panicked. **

**Ozpin looked at the liquid in his hand and looked to the pipes to see liquid leaking out.**

"_**I mean, it is there. It's gotta be around there."**_

**Ozpin fired a stream of fire down the vent corridor, just to be safe he fired another stream.**

* * *

"**Ozpin?" Jane asked wanting to know what is going on.**

* * *

"**God, what is happening?" Ozpin said to himself. "All right."**

"**Uh, am I- am I clear, Amber? I want to get the hell out of here." Ozpin nervously said looking around.**

"I would too." Blake said not relishing being in that position. Stuck in the vents with an alien and having to rely on faulty equipment to track it. "At this point, I think the alien is the one hunting now."

"As much as I hate to admit. You maybe right, Miss Belladonna." Peter said.

**A second dot appeared on the tracker screen and headed towards the stationary dot that represented Ozpin.**

"**Oh, God. It's moving right towards you." Amber said in a panicked voice.**

* * *

**Ozpin looked up the ladder confused. "Um-"**

* * *

"**Move! Get out of there! Behind you! Move!" Amber cried seeing the second dot rapidly approaching the stationary dot.**

* * *

**Ozpin quickly grabbed the flash light and the incinerator and quickly climbed down the ladder.**

* * *

"_**Ozpin! Move, Ozpin! Move, Ozpin!" **_**Amber said even more panicked. **

**Jane and Bart listen. Jane fiddles with her headset to calm her nerves while Bart looks uninterested.**

* * *

**Ozpin climbs down the ladder as quickly as he can without slipping.**

"_**Get out!" **_**Amber cried, her sobs can be heard over the headset. **_**"Move!"**_

**Ozpin reaches the bottom of the ladder and shines his light down one end of the vent.**

"_**No, the other way!"**_

**Ozpin moved his light to the other end of the vent and shines his slight on the alien, causing it to screech.**

Everyone jumped once again at the sight of the alien that appeared to be waiting.

Blake chuckled a bit after getting scared to help calm her nerves.

"Shit." Yang said trying to clam her heart after the jumpscare. Its easer to handle when you know its coming but it's another matter when you don't expect it. She looked to Ruby to see her eating a fresh plate of cookies, her coping mechanism when it comes to horror.

"Easy there, Ruby." Yang told her sister when she finished her tenth cookie. "You don't want to choke on a cookie."

**The only sound on the headset from Ozpin is a shrill feedback.**

"**Ozpin?" Jane asked adjusting the headset.**

* * *

"**Oh, no." Amber cried holding the tracker tightly.**

"**Take it easy." Tai told here gently taking the tracker out of her hands.**

* * *

"_**Ozpin?" **_**Tai called out and didn't get a response.**

**Jane closed her eyes to hold back her tears**

* * *

**Tai slammed the incinerator unit that Ozpin used on the table in the dining area. "We found this laying there…" He looked to Jane. "No blood. No Ozpin." He then looked to Bart then to Amber who is on the verge of crying. "Nothing."**

"This can not be good for Amber psyche." Glynda said seeing how Amber looks to be approaching her breaking point.

"No doubt she feels responsible for Ozpin." Leon said.

"What happens now?" Saphron asked wondering what their next course of action is. "They can't continue with the plan. they already lost one person in the vents."

"I'm sure they'll come up with something." Jaune said looking at his sister.

**Tai looked at everyone before slamming the incinerator on the table again in frustration making everyone jump at the sound. "How come I don't hear nobody saying nothing?"**

"**I'm thinking." Jane said placing a finger against her lips. Tai grabbed the incinerator off the table. "Unless somebody has got a better idea." She removed her finger from her lips and set her hand down. "We'll proceed with Ozpin's plan."**

"**What? And end up like the others?" Amber cried, the tears finally coming. "Ohh, No, you're out of your mind." She said shaking her head.**

"**You got a better idea?" Jane asked calmly.**

"**Yes. I say that we abandon this ship." Amber said getting her tears under control but her voice is shaking. "We get the shuttle and just get the hell out of here. We take our chances and just hope that somebody picks us up."**

"It's not a bad plan." Pyrrha said. "Keeps them alive and they leave the alien behind with the ship."

"Until someone stumbles across it and meets the same fate as Ozpin and the others." Ren said glancing towards Pyrrha. "There could also be limit to the amount of people the shuttle can take."

"He's right." Jaune said agreeing with Ren.

"Sorry." Pyrrha said shyly.

"Its ok." Jaune reassured her making her smile.

"**Amber, the shuttle won't take four." Jane said.**

"**Then why don't we draw straws-"**

"**I'm not drawin' any straws." Tai said cutting her off. "I'm for killing that goddamn thing right now." He said walking around the table.**

"**Okay." Jane said taking control. "Well, let's talk about killing it. We know it's using the air shafts- " Tai grumbled voicing his own thoughts. "Will you listen to me, Tai? Shut up!"**

"My kind of gal." Ilia said impressed that Jane is already taking charge of the situation.

"Such a commanding presence." Leon said proudly. "Reminds me of you."

Emilia smiled at his compliment. "That's my girl." She said looking at the screen with pride.

"She needs to be the rock that everyone can rely on at this time." James said impressed that Jane is already taking control of the situation.

"**Let's hear it." Tai said gesturing for her to continue. "Let's hear it."**

"**It's using the air shafts." Jane repeated looking away from Tai to Amber.**

"**We don't know that." Tai said placing a hand on his hip.**

"**It's the only way." Jane said explaining her plan. "We'll move in pairs. We'll go step by step and cut off every bulkhead and every vent… until we have it cornered, and then we'll blow it the fuck out into space."**

"**Is that acceptable to you?" She asked looking in Tai's direction.**

"**If it means killing it, it's acceptable to me."**

"**Obviously it means killing it." Jane told him before looking back at Amber. "But we have to stick together." Amber nodded and sniffed trying to calm her nerves. "How are our weapons?" She asked Tai still holding the incinerator.**

"**The weapons are fine." Tai said before pointing the incinerator in his hand. "This one needs refueling."**

"**Will you get it, please?" Jane said placing a hand under her chin. "Bart, go with him."**

**Bart got up from his seat ready to help when Tai put a hand on his shoulder.**

"**No, no, I can manage, Bart." He told the science officer passing him by. "Don't follow me."**

"Didn't she just tell them they need to stick together." Weiss said surprised that Tai would deny the help of Bart. "That's just foolish."

"Must be a guy thing." Yang said with a shrug. "Dad was never good when it came to teamwork."

"Hey." Tai said hurt that his daughter would even say such a thing. Where had the sweet young girl that used to ride his shoulders go? "I'll have you know, I'm good when it comes to teamwork."

"Student Festival, 4th grade, three legged race." Yang said and Tai frowned as he recalled the memory. There was a three legged race and he and Yang lost because he didn't tell her which leg to start off with.

"That doesn't count." Tai simply said.

**Bart turned to leave.**

"**Bart?" Jane said looking at his back from her peripheral. "Any suggestions from you or MOTHER?"**

"**No, we're still collating." Bart said crossing his arms.**

**Jane laughed briefly. "You're what? You're still collating?" She said removing her hand from under her chin. "I find that hard to believe."**

**Bart uncrossed his arms. "What would you like me to do?"**

"**Just what you've been doing, Bart. Nothing. I've got access to MOTHER now." Jane said noticing that he glanced over his shoulder and tensed slightly. "And I'll get my own answers, thank you."**

**Bart turned to look at her before wiping his brow. "All right." He said leaving the dining area leaving Jane and Amber alone.**

**Jane looked at Amber and saw the fresh tear tracks on her face and her red eyes. She didn't say anything as she left Amber alone to head for the bridge. Amber took a deep breath before leaving to find Tai.**

"I wonder what answers she'll get." Ruby wondered after finishing the cookies and handed the tray to the droid helpers.

"It's best to be wary of answers, Miss Rose." Ozpin cautioned her. "They may not be to your liking, and are seldom worth the hassle of finding out."

The students had an idea of what he's talking about since they saw their future and the answers waiting for them. Such as Salem and the Grimm, the Relics, the Maidens, and the fact that Gods are real. Those answers came with the added responsibility of keeping quiet, less they accidentally spilled the beans about the whole thing.

**Jane completed the steps to gain access to MUTHUR and waited for the door to unlock, once done she pressed the open button and looked behind her to make sure nothing is following her inside. Once inside the core she sat in the chair and entered commands into the computer, the chair whirred into position and MUTHUR came online **

"**INTERFACE 2037 READY FOR INQUIRY"**

"**REQUEST CLARIFICATION ON SCIENCE INABILITY TO NEUTRALIZE ALIEN" ****Jane typed **

"**UNABLE TO CLARIFY"**** MOTHER responded. Jane looked at the answer in frustration before typing her next question.**

"**REQUEST ENHANCMENT"**

"**NO FURTHER ENHANCEMENT. SPECIAL ORDER 937. SCIENCE OFFICER EYES ONLY"**

**Jane frowned slightly at the answer and wondered what the special order is.**

"What do you think that order is?" Ruby asked her team wondering what their thoughts are.

"Something not good." Weiss said getting a sinking feeling that whatever Order 937 is. It isn't good.

"**EMEGENCY COMMAND OVERIDE 100375. WHAT IS SPECIAL ORDER 937?"**** Jane typed looking at the screen.**

"**NOSTROMO REROUTED TO NEW CO-ORDINATES. INVESTIGATE LIFE FORM. GATHER SPECIMEN. PRIORITY ONE. INSURE RETURN OF ORGANISM FOR ANALYSIS. ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS EXPENDABLE."**

"What?" Yang yelled her eyes flashing red as soon as she reading what the order is. "All the company cares about is the alien?"

"Typical." Sienna said not all surprised at the order. "The same thing can be said of the SDC. All they care about is making money, not the lives of their workers."

"They're willing to sacrifice the lives of the crew to protect the alien." Ruby said in disbelief that the company they work for would do such a thing.

"That does explain some of Bart's actions." Jaune said thinking back on everything that Bart did. "He stopped Tai from killing the alien, and he let Kane back into the ship even though he knew it was against protocol."

"He's been protecting the alien this whole time." Pyrrha said now realizing why some his actions felt off to her.

"Sickening." Glynda said and those around her agreed.

**Jane pulled her head back in disbelief unaware that Bart is next to her.**

"**There is an explanation for this, you know." Bart said looking at Jane then to the screen. Jane grabs his shirt and gets out of the chair.**

"**Is there really?" Jane asked pushing Bart against the wall and tearing open his shirt. "I don't want wanna hear your goddamn explanation!" She yelled pushing Bart against the wall again letting go his shirt as she begins to sob.**

"**I want- I want-" She said in between the sobs while Bart backed away. "I want- I w-" Jane couldn't finish her sentence and covered her face with her hands before running them through her hair and leaving.**

"I can't imagine what she is feeling right now." Pyrrha said worried about Jane.

"Betrayal and abandonment." Sun said looking at the screen. "I mean how would you feel if everything you did was for nothing but for the freed of others?"

Pyrrha didn't say anything since she knew that feeling after she discovered that one of her trainers was pocketing money that she gave him for his gym to continue operating. Once she found out she cut ties with the trainer and decided to move onto more practical applications of her skill set, other than tournament fighting.

**Now determined Jane goes to the dining area and hits the intercom. "Tai. Amber?" She said and didn't get a response, so she went to find them. She walked over to the corridor leading to the engineering section but stopped when the bulkhead lowered cutting her off, she hit the open button but nothing happened. Turning around she saw Bart near the door console.**

"**Bart, open the door." Jane said but Bart didn't instead he looked at her with a blank expression. Jane decided to try another door but again the bulkhead closed trapping her in the dining area. "Bart-"**

"Oh no." Velvet said worried that Bart is going to try and harm her.

**Jane walked over to Bart and noticed a drop of sweat running down the side of his face. "Will you open the door?" She asked stopping in front of Bart who started giggling. She tried to force her way past him but stopped when Bart slammed his palm against the wall startling her.**

**She saw that the drop of sweat is colored white like milk. Bart's mouth began twitching before he grabbed her hair, Jane screamed as she fell back trying to get away from him. Bart held a fistful of her blonde hair.**

"Stay away from FemJaune! You bastard!" Nora shouted at the screen pointing a finger at Bart on screen. "If there is any hair pulling. It's gonna be me that's doing it." She proclaimed proudly.

Jaune blushed at what Nora said unsure if he should be afraid or aroused by her statement.

"Kinky." Coco said impressed that the ginger girl would say such a thing in front of so many people.

Blake wrote something in her private notebook quickly and put it away just as fast.

**Jane crawled on her hands and knees trying to get away while Bart walked fast to get her. Bart grabbed the lower half of her jumpsuit and lifted her off the ground, Jane tried to get free but couldn't when Bart pushed her into a wall. Jane slammed into the wall hard and fell on the ground stunned.**

**Bart looked at her stunned form almost like he's studying her but looked away when the sound of jingling caught his attention. He grabbed Jane by her collar and tossed her into a small alcove, she stumbled from the toss and fell on bench on her back.**

**Bart entered the alcove and turned on the light showing posters of naked models on the walls. Bart looked at Jane on the bench unconscious but breathing. He brought his right to his chest, his fingers twitching uncontrollably. Bart grabbed a magazine and rolled it up tightly when Jane appeared to be coming too.**

**Bart held the rolled up magazine tightly before placing it inside Jane's mouth cutting off her air flow. Jane struggled to get free but Bart didn't budge and continued to hold the magazine in place.**

"He seems intent on drawing out her death." Raven said. Personally she never liked the drawn out method, she preferred the quick and clean method when it comes to killing.

"He doesn't seem bothered by his actions." Willow said feeling uneasy by his method of killing. Something about it didn't feel right to her and the notion is shared by the other females

"Where are the others?" Pyrrha cried fearing that she might be seeing the slow death of the FemJaune. "They should have heard the scuffle."

"I don't know." Blake said.

**Tai came up beside Bart and saw what is going on. "The hell are doing?" He tried to pry off Bart's arm holding the rolled up magazine as Jane's struggles intensified, Amber tried to retrain him from behind but couldn't.**

**Bart moved his other hand but Tai grabbed his wrists to restrain him but couldn't as Bart moved his hand towards Tai. Tai struggled to hold back Bart's hand but couldn't as Bart gripped his chest causing Tai to scream out in pain.**

"What the hell is he?!" Ruby shouted.

"He doesn't seem normal." Weiss said agreeing with her partner.

**Tai collapsed with pain from Bart and Amber took his spot trying to free Jane. Tai grabbed a small fire extinguisher and pushed Amber out of the way hitting Bart in the back of the neck which caused him to spit up white liquid and stumble of the side of the alcove.**

"**Get her up. Get her up. Get her up." Tai told Amber who rushed to help him with Jane. Tai fell on the floor from slipping on the white liquid spit up from Bart.**

**Bart spun around in the corner of the alcove, his arms hitting the walls. Bart was also chittering and spitting up more liquid.**

"What the-" Weiss said upon seeing the white liquid spew forth from Bart. The way he moved unsettled her since it reminded her of a dying spider that would twitch erratically before succumbing to death.

**Tai got to his feet still holding the fire extinguisher. Bart stopped spinning and walked to Tai. Not wanting him to get close Tai hit Bart across the face which had the effect of almost decapitating him, Bart's head remained attached to the back of neck so it hung on his back.**

"Fuck!" Sun shouted seeing how Bart's head hung on his back.

"He's a robot!" Nora shouted pointing a finger at the screen. "Evil robot."

"**Android!" Tai shouted as Bart continued to move without his head, white liquid spurted out of his body from the almost decapitation like a fountain. "He's and android!"**

**Bart continued to move so Tai hit him again forcing him to his knees, Tai hit Bart again repeatedly until the android was on it's back trying to grab Tai but couldn't since Tai kept moving his arms bashing the android until it stopped moving. White liquid spurted out of the wound and continued to flow.**

"**Jesus!" Tai said looking at the still android as it occasionally twitched. "It's a robot. Bart is a goddamn robot!" Tai moved closer to the still android holding the spot Bart gripped on his chest. "God!"**

**Tai got grabbed by Bart when he got to close. "Oh! Get off me- oh!" Tai shouted struggling with Bart and falling on his dragging Bart with on so the android is on top. "Holy shit! Help! Help me get this fucking thing off!"**

**Amber finished dragging Jane away from the two and rushed to help Tai who is struggling to hold back Bart from killing him. Amber grabbed Bart's head and pulled trying to pull him off Tai but only succeeded in tearing off the head. Throwing aside the head she grabbed a prod that had fallen off the table.**

"**Aah!" Amber screamed stabbing Bart in the back making the android short circuit from the prod. **

"**God! Jesus!" Tai yelled glad that Bart stopped moving.**

"**Oh, God! Oh, God!" Amber cried dropping the prod and moved to help Tai in getting Bart off of him.**

"Hopefully they can get some answers." Emilia said. "Maybe he can tell them how to kill the alien."

"Yeah, they can rewire him and get the answers." Ruby said before turning to Penny who looked distraught. "Are you okay?"

"I'm confused. Bart was an android and is only doing what he's programmed to do." Penny said looking at the screen. "I was an android, so does that mean I had a hidden directive in me that I never knew about. I could have pulled something like Bart and hurt my friend." She said with tears on the verge of falling.

"You could never do something like that, Penny." Ruby said hugging her friend. "You're my friend and friends are always there for each other. In the dark times to help them." She told the former android who eyes had widen and started crying.

Penny returned the hug and cried while Ruby held her.

James smiled at the two happy that Penny has a friend after being isolated for so long.

**Jane now recovered with the help of Tai moved Bart's body onto the table where she began rewiring the circuits and wires to bring the android back to life.**

"**How come the company sent us a goddamn robot?" Tai asked watching from the side as Jane worked.**

"**All I can think of is they must've wanted the alien for their weapons division"**

"In the end, it all comes down to greed." Sienna said with disdain and crossed her arms. "Weyland-Yutani probably wants to turn the alien into a weapon that they can control."

"Who in their right mind would want to do that?" Jaune asked looking at the leader of White Fang.

"You'd be surprised." James said thinking of cult that existed that wanted to control the Grimm. Unfortunately it lead to their deaths when their leader brought Grimm into the compound and tried to control them.

"**He's been protecting it right along." Jane said finishing the rewiring process. "Tai, will you plug it in?"**

"**I don't know why-"**

"**Because he may know how to kill it." Jane explained grabbing a soldering tool and lifted up Bart's head which is still connected to the body via wires and cables to better see. She touched a wire with the tool causing a spark to appear and the arms to twitch. She touched the same wire and more sparks appeared.**

**Once done she placed Bart's head upright but it fell back, finally she got to stay upright. Bart's head and body are caked in dried android milk, some it still leaking out of his mouth.**

"**Bart, can you hear me?" Jane asked not getting a response, she moved closer to the table and slammed her fists on it causing Bart's eyes to open. "Bart?!"**

**More liquid leaked out of Bart's mouth as the android looked at Jane and other. "Yes, I can hear you." He said in a distorted voice.**

"That's just wrong." Neptune said seeing the decapitated head talking.

"Yeah." Sun said agreeing with his partner this was more disturbing than the Grimm porn one of his classmates showed him. How anyone could find the Grimm attractive is beyond him.

"I feel like I should say about the milk being all over the place. But that's too easy." Yang said watching the screen.

"And we thank you." Jaune told Yang with a small smile.

**Jane sat down in a chair facing Bart. "What was your special order?"**

"**You read it. I thought it was clear."**

"**What was it?" Jane repeated so the other can hear what the special order is.**

"**Bring back life form. Priority one. All other priorities rescinded."**

**Tai got up from his spot and marched over to the table holding an incinerator in case Ash decided to pull a Frankenstein and attack them again. "That damn company! What about our lives, you son of a bitch?"**

"**I repeat: All other priorities are rescinded." Bart repeated looking at Tai.**

"The company really doesn't care for their lives." Weiss said seeing some similarity to the SDC under Jacque's control.

"The board maybe. But there may be some in the company that don't approve of what their bosses are doing." Ghira said thinking of the Humans that helped when the White Fang was just starting out. One of the finders actually came from the SDC. The other came in the form of Emilia, she helped him see that relationships between Human and Faunus are possible

"**How do we kill it, Bart?" Jane asked getting Bart's attention as his eyes moved to her. "There's got to be a way of killing it. How- How do we do it?"**

"**You can't."**

"**That's bullshit!" Tai yelled sitting back down next to Amber.**

"**You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you?" Bart said shifting his eyes to all three of them before settling on Jane. "A perfect organism. It's structural perfection is matched only by its hostility."**

"**You admire it." Amber stated noticing the slight admiration in Bart's voice.**

**Bart looked at Amber. "I admire its purity. A survivor… unclouded by conscience, remorse or delusions of morality."**

"The same could be said of the Grimm." Port said getting looks from the students. "They are bred to kill and have all the traits that Bart listed."

"You sound like you admire them." Ren said looking at his teacher.

"I admire their tenacity when it comes to fighting. Plus they never hold back when it comes to fighting, it makes it more thrilling." Peter told them with a radiant smile making the student wonder if they should be taught by such an individual.

**What Bart said made them pause.**

"**Look, I- I've heard enough of this, and I'm asking you to pull the plug." Tai said having enough of Bart and the news. Jane moved to unplug Bart.**

"**Last word." Bart said stopping her as she looked at his head.**

"**What?"**

"**I can't lie to you about your chances, but… you have my sympathies." Bart told them smiling at their plight.**

"Smug bastard." Pyrrha said knowing his type. "Good riddance."

Jaune and the other students looked at Pyrrha with surprised expressions since this is the first time they ever seen anything close to hate from the champion fighter.

**Jane scowled before yanking the plug silencing Bart who is still smiling at them mocking them. "We're gonna blow the ship." Jane told the two standing up. "We'll take our chances in the shuttle."**

"**Blow up the ship." Jane said grabbing the incinerator on the table while Tai stood up ready.**

"**Good." Tai said before bending over to grab Amber's arm to help her up since she looking at Bart's body. "Come on." He helped Amber and led her to Jane who is waiting for them and opens the bulkhead taking point.**

**Tai turns around before leaving to look at Bart's body one last time before setting it on fire with the incinerator. The heat of the flames caused the fake skin to form bubbles, Tai pulled the trigger again letting loose another stream of flames. The flames melted the fake skin exposing the blank face of the android underneath.**

"Was that how I looked?" Penny asked herself thinking back to when she was first made. "Before my creator settled on this appearance."

"No, Dr. Poledina already knew what you were going to look like." James told her remembering the first time he saw the 3D model of Penny.

"Really?" Penny asked looking at James.

"Yeah, he knew from the start." James said reassuring her and bringing a smile to her face.

"That's good to know." Penny said with a smile. She couldn't wait to meet her creater again and see his reaction now that she is human.

"**When we throw the switches, how long before the ship blows?" Jane asked holding the incinerator at the ready as she led the way with Amber following behind holding the tracker and Tai covering the rear.**

"**Ten minutes." Tai responded.**

"**No bullshit." **

"**If we ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space."**

"**We're gonna need coolant for the air support system." Jane said coming up to a junction, she checked one of the corridors before looking at Tai and Amber. "You two go down, get all the coolant you can carry."**

"**I'll get the shuttle ready. I'll give you about-" Jane looked at her watch briefly. "About seven minutes. Come back up here. I'll shut the switches off, and we'll blow this fucker off into space."**

"**Okay. All right. Come on." Tai told Amber heading down a corridor.**

"**Ready?" Jane asked Tai before he left with Amber to get the coolant.**

"**Take care of yourself."**

"**Seven minutes." She reminded them before heading for the shuttle.**

"We're nearing the climax." Summer said eyes glued to the screen.

"I hope they show it being blown up." Yang said smashing her fists together. "The bastard deserves to be blown up.

Ruby nodded in agreement after seeing the death of her favorite/only uncle. She wanted the alien to die.

"Let's not count our chickens just yet." Tai told them.

**Jane enters the shuttle and sets her incinerator down next to the console and begins prepping the shuttle.**

* * *

**The shield protecting the shuttle retracts allowing the shuttle to launch.**

* * *

**Moving to pilot seat Jane grabs a hair tie and pulls her hair into a small bun before typing in commands into the computer**

"_**Take it easy." **_**Tai's voice can be heard on the speaker as Jane flips switches and starts checking the systems. She stops when meowing is heard over the speakers.**

"**Jones." Jane said before checking to see where Jones is on the computer. She sees that the meowing is coming from the bridge and grabs the incinerator before leaving the shuttle to get Jones.**

"I forgot about the cat." Nora said.

"Same here." Weiss said more worried about what was happening with the alien than the cat. "I assumed that the alien ate it."

"That's harsh." Sun said looking at her.

"It killed Kane, Ozpin, and Qrow. So would it spare the cat?" Weiss asked looking back at Sun. Neither of them looked away until Neptune waved his arms distracting them.

"Settle it in the ring." Neptune told them.

**Tai and Amber enter the hold containing small mining shuttles. Amber is pushing a small cart while Tai guards her as she stops in front of a mining shuttle. Grabbing the flashlight off the cart Amber climbs into the hold of the shuttle and sets the light down so she can access the coolant canisters. Tai walks over after checking the area and takes the canisters from Amber as she disconnects them and passes them to Tai.**

* * *

**At the same time Jane steps off the ladder and steps onto the deck with the bridge. "Jones?" Hearing nothing Jane goes to a suit closet and retrieves an animal carrying case.**

* * *

**Back in the hold Tai and Amber are gathering the canisters and putting them on the cart. Once they are done Amber gets the light from the shuttle and pushes the cart with Tai to another section of the hold in search of more coolant. The two stop in front of a room and enter.**

"**Okay, check the bottles." Tai said standing guard at the entrance. Amber leaves the light on the cart and points at a wall with small openings holding coolant containers.**

* * *

**Jane's search leads her back to the bridge. "Jones?" She said upon entering the bridge.**

* * *

**Tai is helping check the bottles to make sure they are full. "How you doin?" He asks from his spot across the room.**

"**Fine." Amber replied rolling the full containers towards the door where the full containers are.**

"She's doing a good job at hiding her fear." Glynda said impressed at Amber's resolve.

"Probably because she is getting her wish at leaving." Kali said recalling earlier when Amber wanted to leave. "Though she is making needless noise. It might draw the alien to their location."

"Fool." Raven said refering to how much noise Amber is making.

"**Kitty." Jane said while tapping her fingers on a console to draw out Jonesy.**

"_**Okay. Go ahead." **_**Tai's voice is heard over the speaker being broadcasted all over the ship so they can stay in contact with Jane.**

"**Jones?" Jane repeated setting down the incinerator. "Psst! Psst! Psst! Psst!" She said looking under the consoles and searching for the cat. "Kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty."**

"**Come here, Jones. Come here." Jane said looking over the seats. "Jones." Seeing nothing Jane checks another part of the bridge. **

"**Come here, boy. Come here."**

**Jane hears something rattling near her station. "Jones?" The rattling continues. "Jones?"**

Blake mentally prepared herself for another jumpscare as did others.

**Jane slowly approaches her station. "Come here. Come here, sweetheart." She said and sees nothing when she reaches her station. "Jones?"**

**Moving towards the front of the bridge Jane keeps a lookout. "Jones? Jones?" She keeps calling out and checks between the seats to hear hissing and Jones jumping out from between the seats scaring her.**

**Jane places a hand on the console to keep herself from falling and covers her mouth as she gasps. "Jones! Goddamn it!" She says after removing her hand and tries to calm her nerves. Moving around the console Jane catches Jones grooming himself.**

"You said it." Jaune said referring to what his onscreen counterpart said.

"Cats are evil." Ruby whispered, once again thankful that she is a dog person and that Zwei would never scare her like that. "Look at him pretending like nothing is wrong."

"Did a cat wrong you in someway?" Weiss asked curious.

"Ruby is a hardcore dog lover." Yang said and Ruby nodded in agreement.

"**Now I got you." She said hugging the cat and kissing the top of its head before walking towards the animal carrier. Jane kneels next to the carrier and opens it before putting Jones inside. "Here, sweetie. Nice kitty." **

**Jones is not happy since he growls his displeasure at being placed inside the animal carrier.**

* * *

**Back inside the room Amber is rolling the full coolant canisters towards the door while Tai checks the canisters at his side of the room. Amber goes back to looking for more full coolant canisters with her back to the door.**

**A shadow appears on the light being shown on the wall.**

"Oh no." Velvet said.

**Amber rolls more canisters towards the door and goes back to checking but stops and turns around.**

**Tai sees Amber from his spot and sees the alien slowly approaching. "Oh, my God."**

**Amber now faces the alien and backs away towards the wall with a gasp.**

* * *

**Jane closes and locks the lid on the animal carrier and slings the incinerator over her shoulder.**

"_**Get out of the way." **_**Tai said over the speaker.**

"_**I can't get out of the way!" **_**Amber cried her voice breaking with fear and hysteria.**

**Jane hears the two and stops what she's doing as she listens.**

"_**Get out of the way, Amber! It's gonna kill us!"**_

"_**I can't!"**_

**Jane set the incinerator down and goes to the overhead console.**

"_**Amber, for Christ's sake, get out of the way!"**_

"**Tai? Amber-" Jane reaches the overhead console and begins trying to find their location.**

"Is she going to make it?" Ruby asked though deep down she knew that it was impossible.

"She can try." Raven said earning a glare from everyone in the room.

"Where did you go wrong, Rav?' Summer whispered seeing the teenager that favored violence all over again.

**Amber can't move as the alien is blocking the way. The alien rises to its full height over 7 feet.**

"**Get out of the way, Amber!" Tai yells aiming his incinerator at the alien but he can't fire without hitting Amber as well.**

**The alien approaches Amber and reaches out to her.**

* * *

"**Tai? Amber?" Jane asks over the speaker after locating them. "Amber? Tai?" She repeated and heard Amber sobbing.**

* * *

**Tai gets to his feet and rushes to help Amber but stops when he sees Amber is huddled in a corner crying with the alien towering over here.**

**Seeing the alien reaching for Amber drove Tai to act and charge the alien from behind. The alien senses Tai and quickly turns around swinging its tail knocking him back.**

**The alien quickly moved to Tai and grabbed his shoulders and brought its face closer to Tai's.**

Summer held her husband's hand for comfort. She didn't want to see him die again.

"It's ok." Tai whispered into her ear.

Ruby held Yang's hand once again for support. She didn't want to watch her father die again, the first time was traumatic for her.

**Jane quickly grabbed the incinerator and the carrier case and rushes out of the bridge to save her friends.**

* * *

**The alien digs its claws in Tai holding him in place and making the blonde bleed. Tai struggled to free himself from the alien's grip.**

**The alien's lips quivered as they opened showing its fangs.**

* * *

**Jane climbed down the ladder to the cargo deck and sets down the carrier case before running towards Tai and Amber's location.**

* * *

**The alien opened its mouth.**

"**Get outta the room!" Tai yelled to Amber before the second mouth of the alien shot out and stabbed Tai.**

Summer held Tai's hand tightly not that he minded. It was strange seeing himself die again.

Ruby and Yang closed their eyes the moment the alien struck, not wanting to see their father die again.

Raven looked away from the screen. Deep down she felt conflicted about seeing Tai die, part of her felt that Tai was weak and that was the reason he died. The other part felt angry that Tai died, she wasn't sure why.

Qrow pulled out his flask and prepared to take a swing but stopped. He had to remember that the Tai on screen isn't the Tai he knew, so he put the flask away and ate some popcorn.

**Jane runs down the corridor to try and help her friends.**

* * *

**The alien turned to Amber after killing Tai and slowly approached her, its arms open ready to grab her in case she tried to run. **

**Amber couldn't do anything but cry hysterically as the alien froze her in place with fear.**

**The alien's tail moved between her legs and moved up.**

"What the-" Yang said not liking where this is going and looked to Ruby hoping they won't show what she thinks is going to happen. Ruby has already seen death, she doesn't need to see someone being sexually assaulted.

**As Jane ran through the corridors the sounds of Amber screams is heard over the speakers.**

"_**Oh, God!" **_**Amber screamed along with the sounds of Tai whimpering.**

**Jane stopped when she reached a junction and looked behind her as Amber's blood curdling screams can be heard again but is overtaken by the sound of the alien roaring. Jane ran down another corridor as everything went silent, the only sound is the vents and Jane's footsteps.**

**Finally she made it to the room and stopped outside to grab the incinerator off her shoulder holding it at the ready.**

"**Tai? Jane asked and didn't get a response so she slowly entered the room. She didn't get past the door when she found Tai and Amber. The state of their bodies caused her to shudder.**

**Tai is in the sitting position hunched over disemboweled.**

**Amber is hanging from the ceiling and her pants and shoes are missing, blood can be seen running down her legs.**

"Did it do what I think it did?" Coco said through clenched teeth. Her grip tightened on the armrest of the chair.

"I think it did." Blake said horrified at the implications. Her imagination didn't help either since they only see Amber's legs and the blood.

"That sick fuck." Sun said disgusted. "That's messed up."

Glynda looked away to recompose herself after seeing the gruesome scene. Amber didn't deserve what happened to her, she didn't deserve to be violated and killed afterwards. No one woman should have to go through that.

**Jane backs away in fear and leaves the room. Jane grunts when she trips but regains her footing and runs down the corridor to the self destruct room on the engineering deck. She is grunting and panting as she runs trying to get the images of Amber and Tai out of her mind.**

**Making it to the room Jane opens a panel and flips a lever causing a beeping to sound. Moving to a glass panel Jane removes the screws with her fingers and tosses the panel to the side when she frees the final screws. Inside the panel are two levers, grabbing one of the levers Jane pulls the lever down and struggles with it. Light from the room is reflected off her skin due to the sweat on her hands and face.**

**Getting one lever down Jane moves to the second having a slightly easier time pulling it. With both levels down a floor panel opens with a creak. Moving over she fully opens the panel to show a warning label regarding the self destruct system.**

"After five minutes you can't turn it off." Velvet said reading the warning label. "Interesting."

"It's probably there to in case someone wants to abort the sequence." Winter said.

"Most self destruct systems are typically entering a code and that's it." Emilia said looking at the screen. "This is actually refreshing to see a system that has the option to turn it off."

"You have experience?" Winter asked looking to the Arc matriarch. Emilia simply smiled at her and went back to watching the screen.

**Jane reads the warning and moves her finger over the line about how the system will not operate after 5 minutes. Moving on she reads about how to activate the system. After punching in the code on the keypad four cylindrical objects are pushed out. Grabbing one Jane inserts it into a hole and screws it into place before pulling out a brass tube. Sliding open a panel on the side to reveal a red button which she presses and slides the cover back into place.**

**Repeating the process again for the second while the first tube slowly moves out of the panel to reveal a glowing rod. She sniffs and tries to hold back her tears as she moves on to the fourth.**

"_**Danger. The emergency destruct system is now activated."**_** MUTHUR announced as an alarm blared and a countdown began counting down from ten minutes.**

"_**The ship will detonate in T-minus ten minutes."**_

**Jane gets back to her feet as coolant is being vented outside the room.**

"_**The option to override automatic detonation expires in T-minus five minutes."**_

**Jane grabs the incinerator and runs out of the room placing her hand on the walls to help guide her as she passes through the coolant smoke.**

"Now she needs to avoid the alien while on a time limit." Neptune said wondering how she is dealing with the added pressure.

"Talk about being in an _alarming _situation." Yang said with a smile while looking at her team.

"Don't even." Blake said with a frown.

"That's horrible." Weiss said and Ruby nodded in agreement.

"You guys don't know true comedy." Yang said glumly while crossing her arms and going back to looking at the screen. Unknown to Yang, Jaune had smirked at the pun. It reminded him of the joke book that Saphron had when he was young.

**Jane climbs down the ladder using a shortcut. Once off the ladder she lights the end of the incinerator with a lighter and slowly moves through one of the maintenance sections. She uses the light from the incinerator to help her navigate the dark room.**

**MUTHUR is repeating the same thing about the option to override in the background.**

**Jane sees something black on the wall and uses the light from the incinerator to see when a groaning sound catches her attention. Moving slowly she comes upon a growth of some kind on the walls.**

"That looks like the inside of the alien ship." Ren said remembering the interior of the alien ship. "Is the alien trying to recreate it?"

"Unlikely, since it never saw the inside of the alien ship." Bart theorized looking closely at the growth. "Maybe a nest?"

"Why would it make a nest? It's the only one on the ship." Nora said.

"Unfortunately, like all new species. All we have is theories about its habits." Bart said while taking notes.

**Reaching to touch it, she quickly withdraws her hand and moves the incinerator to better see. She backs away when the light hits something in the growth. Moving closer she sees what's in the growth.**

"**Oh-" Jane said with a gasp seeing Ozpin cocooned in the growth. "Ozpin."**

**Jane's mouth quivers with emotion as she moves the incinerator and sees Qrow as well. "Qrow." She gasps when she sees that he's in some type of egg, his face is barely recognizable. Jane moves the incinerator back to Ozpin.**

"What the hell." Yang said horrified at what she's seeing on screen. "Are-are they turning into eggs?"

"It looks that way." Jaune said wondering if this is how the eggs are made. "How's it doing it?"

"Again, all we have are theories." Bart said looking at the screen.

"That's no way for a person to die." Leon said seeing how Ozpin and Qrow are being into eggs from the looks of it. "It's not enough to just kill them! Now it desecrates their bodies."

"This thing is worse than the Predator." Ren said looking away from the screen. "At least with them, you have a fighting chance."

"**Oh."**

"**Kill me." Ozpin groans looking at Jane, his voice barley a moan. "Kill me!" He orders.**

**Jane takes a few steps back crying and pulls the trigger following the last order of her Captain. The flames envelop Ozpin killing him and sparing him from a grim fate. Moving on to Qrow, Jane does the same thing and mercifully killing him. She pulls the trigger again aiming the incinerator all over the growth.**

**Letting go of the trigger she looks at the burning bodies of Ozpin and Qrow for a moment before shedding more tears for her friends. She sniffs and wipes the tears from her face before adopting a look of determination. She needs to kill the alien for her friends.**

"She did the right thing." Tai said taking a sip of water. "No one deserves that fate."

Everyone in the room agreed. Truly there are fates worse than death.

"I hope she kills it." Ruby said surprising the rest of the students since they knew Ruby as sweet. She would never wish harm and death upon another, it appeared that Ruby has a dark side.

**Jane climbs back up the ladder to the cargo deck and peeks over the railing to check the area before stepping onto the deck. Jonesy carrier case is on the floor, Jane is breathing heavily as she aims the incinerator down the ladder and grabs the handle to the carrier.**

**Walking quickly down the corridor Jane keeps looking back towards the ladder to make the alien isn't coming. She grunts and gasps as she rushes down the corridor holding the carrier case in her left hand and the incinerator in her right. She keeps looking back to make sure and leans against the wall to catch her breath.**

"_**The option to override automatic detonation expires in T-minus three minutes."**_

**Moving on Jane shuffles against the wall until she gets to the corner and peaks out to see the alien rising out of the vents. The alien is blocking the only path to the shuttle.**

"Come on!" Nora shouted throwing her hands up. "How does it know?"

"Random chance?" Pyrrha said unsure.

"How many random chances have you had?" Nora asked her and Pyrrha didn't have an answer.

**Quickly leaning back into cover she looks at the corner and sees the alien's shadow moves across the wall and slowly backs up. Setting down the carrier case she backs up quickly when she sees the alien coming around the corner. **

**Jane grips the incinerator and backs up before turning around and running back the way she came making sure to check behind her as she ran.**

* * *

**The alien crouches down and looks at Jonesy in the animal carrier. Jonesy looks back and hisses, his ears flattening on his head.**

**The alien swings his arms at the carrier case.**

"Not the cat." Pyrrha and Sun said at the same time.

"Maybe it's afraid of cats." Nora said.

"That's stupid." Weiss said turning in her seat to face Nora. "What kind of monster would be afraid of a cat?"

"You never know." Nora replied leaning back in her seat. "It's a big multiverse."

**Jane is now back on the cargo deck and heads back to the self destruct room.**

"_**The option to override automatic detonation expires in T-minus one minute."**_

**Jane runs through the barely lit corridors, the only light coming from the vents and from the orange alarm lights. Soon she makes it to the corridor leading to the room and covers her face when passing through the coolant smoke.**

"_**Twenty-nine, 28, 27, 26-"**_

**Jane enters the room and starts undoing what she did.**

"_**23, 22, 21, 20 seconds."**_

**Jane reads the instructions on how the disable the detonation and enters the kill code.**

"_**17, 16, 15, 14, 13-"**_

**The tubes begin lowering back into the console and Jane pushes them to speed up the process. **

"_**12, 11, ten seconds."**_

**Once the tubes are back in place Jane slides open the panels and pressed the button again turning them off. She quickly moves on to the remaining ones.**

"_**Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four"**_

"Why is she trying to turn off the self destruct system?" Ruby asked confused at her actions.

"She's probably trying to get more time since the alien is blocking her path." Li said drinking some tea. "The time needed to get around the alien safely isn't within the time limit."

"So, she needs to buy time to escape." Yang told her sister.

"**Come on!" Jane shouts finally getting all the buttons and rushing over to the levers. Kneeling in front of them she grabs the handle of one and pulls back to its previous position.**

"_**Three, two, one. The option to override detonation procedure has now expired."**_

**Jane moves the second lever and pulls back to its previous position. Once done she gets back to her feet.**

"**MOTHER? I've turned the coolant unit back on. MOTHER!" She yells at the intercom and looks to the screen to see the countdown still going.**

"_**The ship will automatically destruct in T-minus five minutes**_**."**

**Jane scowls at the screen and grabs the incinerator by the barrel. "You bitch!" She screams slamming the butt of the incinerator into the screens.**

"There is something satisfying about smashing something." Nora said with a smile. "Its almost therapeutic."

"Yup, it's a _smashing _good time." Yang said with a smile and everyone internally cringed.

Ruby punched her sister in the arm for the pun. A habit that she developed during their time in Beacon.

**Jane leaves the room and runs back to where she left Jones. "You bitch!" She screams as she runs through the corridor. **

"**Goddamn it!" She yelled reaching the ladder and looking behind her before climbing the ladder.**

**Jane peeks over the railing checking the area before climbing back onto the deck. She lights the incinerator tip and moves slowly through the corridor making sure to keep an eye on the vents as she passed by them.**

**Coolant vented when Jane got close scaring her before shaking it off and pressing on.**

**Jane makes it back to where she left Jones and checks around the same corner where she saw the alien and saw nothing. She leans back into cover and rests her head against the wall when she notices something in the corner of her eye.**

**Jones is still in the carrier case unharmed, though the case is on its side.**

"He's alive!" Sun said happily. "The case protected him from the alien."

"Finally someone survived an encounter with the alien." Blake said relieved that the cat survived.

"**Jonesy." Jane says in relief and moves to grab the carrier case handle before moving on to the shuttle. Finally she makes it to the airlock for the shuttle after checking the corners just in time as explosions occur throughout the ship.**

**Seeing the explosions in the corridor made Jane rush into the shuttle and tossed the carrier case into the airlock and pushed it into the shuttle. Once inside the shuttle Jane hit the button for the door, the shuttle doors closed as the explosions became more frequent.**

"_**You now have now one minute to abandon ship."**_

**Jane tossed the incinerator on the floor and grabbed the carrier handle moving the case further into the shuttle before setting it down.**

"_**The ship will automatically destruct In T-minus one minute."**_

**Jane ran to the pilot seat and sat down in the chair pressing buttons and switches releasing the clamps holding the shuttle in place. Jane activated the Purge sequence and strapped herself in with the harness, she held the harness tightly as the shuttle lowered.**

"She made it." Ruby exclaimed happily. "Take that, stupid alien!"

"She's not out of the woods yet." Qrow said getting her attention. "She still needs to clear the blast zone."

"He's right." Tai said agreeing with Qrow.

"_**T-minus thirty seconds. Twenty-nine, 28, 27, 26."**_

**The shuttle's engines reversed so the shuttle flew backwards while the Nostromo continued to fly forward.**

* * *

**Jane held the harness tightly as the shuttle began shaking, she watched the underside of the Nostromo pass through the shuttle windows.**

"_**20 second, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 13."**_

**Finally the Nostromo could be seen from the cockpit of the shuttle as it flew forward.**

"_**12, 11, 10 seconds."**_

**Jane watched as the Nostromo fly away and grow smaller. **

"_**Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four."**_

**Jane watched the Nostromo with a stern gaze.**

"_**Three, two, one."**_

**The Nostromo detonated in a flash of yellow. Jane shielded her eyes from the light of the blast. A second detonation occurred and finally a third. Soon the light died down and the Nostromo was no more than particles and debris floating through space.**

**Jane looked out the window with tired eyes. "I got you… you son of bitch." She said to herself and closed her eyes briefly. She let go of the harness and sat in the pilot chair catching her breath and to calm her nerves.**

"Woohoo." Nora cheered throwing her arms into the air. "Now, that was an explosion. Do you think I can recreate that?" She asked Ren.

"Probably not, it's safer that way for everyone." Ren said glad that Nora didn't have access to unlimited explosives. He shuddered to think what the damage would be if she did.

"He's right." Jaune said getting the energetic girl's attention. "It's safer if you didn't attempt to recreate it."

"Boo.' Nora said leaning back in her seat with a defeated expression.

"Is she okay?" James whispered to Ozpin referring to Nora.

"She's fine." Ozpin said looking at the screen.

**Jane opened the carrier case and took out Jones who meowed happy to be out. She hugged the cat and rubbed her cheek against his ears. "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh." Jane said closing the case and hugged him again.**

"**It's all right." She said kissing his head before pressing a button and a cryo tube lid opened with a hiss. "Shh, shh, shh." Jane said knowing that Jonesy hates going into a cryo pod.**

**Jane sat down next to the pod and petted Jone's head. "Shh, shh, shh. It's all right." She said continuing to pet the cat as she looked at the shuttles interior. **

**Jonesy began growling at Jane getting her attention.**

"**All right. It's nice to see you too." Jane told Jones hugging him again. "Shh. It's okay." She said before placing Jones inside the pod and closing the lid.**

"I'm surprised that the cat went in without a fight." Ilia said impressed that the cat didn't put up a fight.

"Didn't you hear him growling? He clearly didn't want to go in." Blake said looking in her direction.

"Just saying, surprising." Ilia said looking away from Blake's gaze and back to the screen.

**With Jones taken care of Jane went to the closet containing EVA suits and found a package with some sleep wear. Taking the package Jane closed the closet door and set the package on the console and unzipped her jumpsuit peeling it off.**

**Jane wore a white short sleeved button up shirt with a green undershirt and no pants. Taking off her boots she stepped out of the blue jumper and removed the button up shirt before removing her shirt. Leaving her in a white tank top and underwear**

"Nice." Coco said looking at the form of Jane on screen.

"Coco." Velvet hissed embarrassed that her friend would say such a thing.

"Don't deny it. You were thinking it too." Coco whispered back making Velvet blush and deny it as best she could.

Sun and Neptune looked away out of respect for Jaune. It was still weird to think that the woman on screen is another version of Jaune.

Ren could admit that the female version of Jaune is a good looking woman. Not his type, but still good looking.

Yang whistled in appreciation at the sight. "She's got a figure."

"8/10." Ilia said drinking in everything about Jane on screen. _'Yup, defiantly looks like I need to include blondes.'_ She thought to herself.

"This is weird, right?" Jaune asked his partner and saw that she has a blush on her face.

**Jane sighed happy to be out of the damp clothes and walked over to an overhead console undoing her dog tags which she tossed next to her discarded clothes. She checked the systems before tuning around to check a console below coolant pipes. She couldn't reach the console and had to bend over slightly to reach it.**

**Once done Jane moved on to the next bringing her closer to the pipes. She began switching the systems to auto since she would be going into cryo sleep. **

**Suddenly a hand reached out from the pipes making her scream and back away.**

"Ahhh!" Ruby screamed when the hand emerged from the darkness.

"Are you kidding me!" Weiss shouted pointing to the screen. "It's in the shuttle. How?"

"There's no way it could have known that the ship is going to explode, right?" Neptune asked his fellow students.

"It may have just been looking for a spot to rest." Bart said tapping a finger against his lips. "Of course, the other option is that the alien has basic understanding of our language. And it fled to the shuttle to escape."

"I think you're giving it too much credit." Glynda said not liking the idea that the alien is capable of learning. "After all, it's still an animal."

"Even some animals are capable of learning." Bart told her. "After all, the Grimm knows to avoid large groups of hunters and only go after solo targets.

"He has a point." Ghira said.

**Jane covered her mouth when she saw the alien laying amongst the pipes. She couldn't see it due to its smooth elongated head blending in with the pipes. The alien moved its head and hissed at Jane making her run to the closet.**

**Jane quickly opened the closet door and entered shutting the door behind her. Once inside she stood in the farthest corner in the small room gasping for breath. Once she calmed down Jane looked at the alien still lying in the pipes barely moving its head.**

**Jane stared at the alien wondering what it's up to.**

* * *

**The alien reached out and touched the consoles before bringing them back and hugged itself.**

* * *

**Jane looked to her right and saw an EVA suit. Getting an idea she shuffled over to the suit and opened the white jumper and placed her leg into the suit leg. She grabbed the suit to hike it up her leg to make sure her leg is properly in the jumpsuit.**

* * *

**The alien opened its mouth and the second mouth slowly came out.**

"It looks weak." Blake said noticing the lethargic movements. "Could it be tired?"

"More like its dying." Jaune said looking at the screen. "When an animal doesn't meet its nutritional requirements. They'll develop health problems. I think what we're seeing is the result of that."

"Impressive." Ozpin said surprised that Jaune would know such a thing.

"My sister, Karen is studying to be a veterinarian." Jaune explained to those listening. "She leaves a lot of her books lying around."

"I told her time and time again. To pick up her things." Emilia said with a sigh, she wondered if their messiness came from Leon.

"So, the alien should be weak enough to not fight back." Pyrrha said sounding hopeful.

"Let's wait and see." Jaune told her with a smile.

**Jane got her other leg into the jumpsuit and placed her right arm into the sleeve never taking her eyes off the alien.**

* * *

**The second mouth opened and closed before retracting.**

* * *

**Jane got both her arms in and held the collar closed as she zipped it up and closed the zipper flap. Moving to the helmet and respirator pack, Jane lifted the chest plate and ducked to get into the helmet.**

**Once inside she reached up and released the cables holding the unit up. The helmet now fit properly, Jane reached under the plate and closed the seals. Once done the helmet hissed as the air seals closed and the internal lights came up.**

**Jane checked the shoulder pads and made sure they are properly in place before slapping them as a sign of good luck.**

**Once in the EVA suit Jane grabbed a grappling gun and loaded a bolt. She held the gun tightly and took a deep breath before opening the door and stepped out. The inside of the helmet already has beads of water running down the visor due to Jane's heavy breathing.**

"I would be sweating too." Blake said that she isn't in Jane's situation.

"She needs to calm down." Leon said worried.

"How can someone be calm in this situation?" Emilia asked her husband.

"Training and experience." Leon replied looking at his wife.

"Which she has none of. She saw her friends killed, and now she is face to face with the alien." Emilia said looking at the screen. "I don't blame her for being scared."

"I would be scared too." Yang said surprising everyone since they know her to charge in headfirst. "I'm only human after all."

"**Come on. Come on." She said sitting down in a chair next to the cryo pods.**

"_**You are my lucky star." **_

**Jane sang setting the weapon in her lap and grabbing the harness straps. **

"_**You…are my lucky star."**_

**Jane looked at the alien who didn't move from its spot and appeared to be sleeping. If it could sleep that is.**

"_**You…" **_**Jane clicked the harness together. "Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky. Okay." She said moving some sliders up on the console next to her and pressed a switch. A panel slid open which control the coolant pipes.**

"**Well, come on." Jane said pressing a button and a jet of coolant flowed from the pipes above where the alien is.**

"_**You are my lucky star." **_

**She pressed a different button and this time the coolant flowed further away from the alien.**

"_**You… you are my lucky star." **_

**Jane pressed another button and this time the coolant flowed directly on the alien making it screech and thrash around in the small space.**

"_**You are my lucky star."**_

**Jane held the button down trying to draw out the alien from its hiding place. The alien continued to thrash and flail.**

"_**You are my lucky star."**_

**Jane mumbled the lyrics when she saw the alien crawl out of the pipes. "Oh, my God." She saw the alien land on the floor and start to get up when her chair slowly rotated.**

"Oh no." Ren said tensing up.

"You can do it." Ruby yelled at the screen.

"Ruby…" Yang said looking at her sister.

"Shut up." Ruby told her sister before looking back at the screen. "You can do it!"

"**My- My lucky-" Jane tried to sing to calm herself in between her heavy breathing.**

"_**You… are my."**_

**Jane began gasping when she couldn't see the alien anymore thanks to the chair rotating. The last thing she saw was the alien looking in her direction.**

"_**You are my."**_

**Jane gasped in fear and was on the verge of hyperventilating.**

"_**Lucky."**_

**Feeling something behind her, Jane turned her head in the helmet and saw the alien above here with its mouth open ready to strike.**

**Jane screamed and hit a red button on the console that opened the airlock doors in the shuttle sucking out the oxygen and creating an explosive decompression. The alien screeched as it was pulled away from its prey.**

"Yeah!" Pyrrha shouted throwing a fist in the air. She looked at everyone and chuckled to herself.

Jaune smiled at his partner and her antics.

**Jane faced the alien as her chair rotated to face the airlock, her harness keeping her in place.**

**The alien grabbed the airlock doors before it could be sucked out into the vacuum of space and held on.**

**Jane grabbed the grappling gun and twisted the loaded bolt making small hooks spring out at the tip. Aiming at the alien she fired when the alien tried to pull itself back in once all the oxygen was sucked out. The bolt stuck the alien in the chest knocking it out of the airlock with a screech, the gun flew out of Jane's hands.**

**The emergency bulkhead closed quickly once it detected no obstruction. The grappling gun stopped when it hit the bulkhead and the alien was dragged behind the ship thanks to the cable being held in place by the bulkhead.**

**The alien grabbed the engine with its tail.**

"Persistent bastard." Sienna said impressed at the alien's resolve.

"How is it breathing in space?" Weiss asked shocked to see the alien still moving despite the lack of oxygen. "Does it even need oxygen?"

"So many questions." Bart mumbled face buried in his notebook.

**Jane quickly looked out the window and saw the alien climb into the engine. **

**She quickly went back to the console and activated the engines and went back to the window just in time see the alien get blasted into space. **

"Take that! You bastard!" Sun cheered throwing his fist into the air.

"Dark meat, anyone?" Yang said with a smile after seeing the alien get friend in the engine.

"Please, Yang…" Weiss said rubbing her temple to ease the headache that came as a result of Yang's humor.

"That was quite the show. I should try that sometime." Peter said impressed at the ingenuity of Jane. Killing the alien with the engine, who would've guessed.

"Please don't." Glynda said hoping that Peter isn't serious. She doesn't want to explain to the council why Beacon needs a new bullhead.

"She did it. She killed the alien." Nora cheered for her. "Our fearless leader wins again!"

"Jane is a badass." Neptune said looking at the screen admiring her.

"Indeed." Raven said impressed that Jane managed to survive when her friends didn't. She definitely is strong willed and would do well in her tribe.

"**Final report of the commercial starship Nostromo. Third officer reporting. The other members of the crew-" Jane paused thinking of her friends as she sat in the chair recording her message while petting Jones. "Kane, Amber, Tai, Qrow, Bart and Captain Ozpin are dead."**

"**Cargo and ship destroyed. I should reach the frontier in about six weeks." Jane stated scratching Jonesy between the ears. "With a little luck, the network will pick me up. This is Jane Ripley Arc, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off."**

**Jane finished her recording and smiled at the cat yawning in her arms. "Come on, cat."**

* * *

**Inside the cyro pod is Jane sleeping in a white robe with Jonesy by her side. The lights switch off as the shuttle flies through space. Everything ended as it began with a silent ship and the emptiness of space.**

The screen faded to black and everyone stretched. Some felt their joints pop.

"In space no one can hear you scream." Spart said getting everyone's attention.

"What?" Kali asked confused.

"Nothing, just something that is associated with this universe." Spart told them before floating to the front of the theater. "So, what did you think?"

"It was scary." Ruby said looking at her hands for a moment then to Spart. "But I liked it."

"The silence was unnerving and the feeling of claustrophobia was present." Weiss said thinking back on what she just saw.

"The face hugger was creepy. And the-the-" Penny said trying to think of what to call the infant alien.

"Chest burster." Spart said supplying the name.

"Correct, the chest burster was unnatural." Penny said with a shiver recalling how Kane died from it.

"I would like to know how the ship ended up on LV-426." Bart said looking to Spart for an answer.

"That is complicated to explain." Spart said with a nervous tone. "Anyway, I need to set up the next showing. So in the meantime, if you'd like, you can see some of the equipment that was used in this universe in the lobby."

That got everyone's attention as they left for the lobby to see the equipment and to take a restroom break.

"Should I tell them that I placed a dummy of the xenomorph, alien egg, face hugger, and chest burster in the lobby for them to look at?" Spart said to himself as he worked on finding a new universe for them to watch. "Nah."

A scream could be heard in the lobby which brought a digital smile to Spart.

* * *

**AN: Whoo, another long chapter done. I was debating on whether or not I should separate this into two chapters, but everyone seems to like the whole movie in one chapter. To me having separate chapters kind of breaks the flow of whatever is being shown. One chapter will be this and the next will be something different. Finally two chapters later we are back to the one being shown chapters earlier.**

**This isn't me critiquing the other reaction fics. I read them and enjoy the stories and the selections that the author picked. It's a personal gripe and nothing else. (Please don't take it personal other reaction authors)**

**Another thing should I include hints for the next showing? **

**I kind of like the guessing what is being shown next. Will it be a horror, comedy, game, or show? Who knows? **

**Anyway before I go I want to mention that this story isn't going to be 100 chapters long or anything crazy. It will end since I don't the cast to be stuck watching moves forever. I'm not sure when the cutoff point will be but it will end at some point.**

**Take care, everyone.**

**\\[T]/**


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